Learn English – Can you say that something “eats time”

expression-requestsphrase-requests

I am looking for a more expressive way to say that something takes time/delays something important. Does the following expression make sense in English?

a tech glitch that eats time (of an important meeting, for instance)

Best Answer

The more idiomatic way to say it is that it eats up time:

An example of eat used as a verb is to say that something eats up time meaning it takes a lot of time.
Your Dictionary

Here's an example:

With manual methods, answering these questions is a Herculean task that eats up time better spent on other projects.
Dell Software — Enterprise Reporter

Related Topic