Jura is right; 'chow' simply means 'food'. So, exactly like Jura said, it means to sit DOWN and eat the CHOW. Also, "I need to find a place to chow down" does NOT mean "This person wants to hide from the crowd in a gathering to eat in a lavish manner that is not very socially acceptable." It just means: "I need to find a place to eat." Just because 'chow down' is a bit informal doesn't mean a person's eating habits are sloppy! Also, "I found a box of cookies and chowed it down before anybody knew what I was doing," while not grammatically incorrect, is off. Indeed, you would use 'scarfed' for that: "I scarfed down the entire box of chocolates." I think the confusion is in the word 'down'. In 'chown down' it's related to 'sitting down (for a meal).' In 'scarfed down', the 'down' refers to having the food go down (to your stomach). Which is why "I found a box of cookies and chowed it down before..." is incorrect.

It means to sit down to eat - similar in meaning to the British term 'tuck in'. The phrase 'chow down' originated in the U.S. military around WWII. The earliest printed citation is from The Hammond Times, December 1942, in a story about life on a submarine: "'Chow down, sir' a Negro mess attendant in a white coat informed.... "Served on navy blue and white china we put away steak, potatoes, peas and ice cream."

Hello Safaa, It is a way to say 'to eat food enthusiastically or also to eat quickly or without good manners". " I need to find a place to chow down" Probably this person wants to hide from the crowd in a gathering to eat in a lavish manner that is not very socially acceptable. Another example: "I found a box of cookies and chowed it down before anybody knew what I was doing." 'to chow down' could be used informally to simply mean 'to eat', 'to eat a meal especially the main meal of the day' : "It's almost 6:00. Are you ready to chow down?"

Another British equivalent is "bog in" (as though the food is a bog... or will be, after you finish with it). In Australia we say "tuck in".

well, i would have to disagree with cherry. though the deffination is incorrect, her points regarding its use is correct, and your last point is alittle flawed. it is altogether an informal word and so forth that point becomes misleading. and no it does not mean "to eat a meal, especially the main meal of the day", it simply means "to eat a meal" that means any meal during the day, not a select one. and your point about the meaning to "i need to find a place to chow down" does not mean that the person wants to hide from the crowd in a gathering to eat in a lavish manner that is not socially acceptable, it simply means that set person wants to find a place to eat. and for this part "i found a box of cookies and chowed dowed it down before anybody knew what i was doing", is incorrect becuase we would not use "chowed" in that sentance, we would thus forth say "wolfed" or "scarffed". i give you props for attempting this question, though you were incorrect.