Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to eat very fast, to gobble up.

1908		Chicago Trib. 1 Oct. in Fleming Unforgettable Season (1981) 273: Only those who have inhaled said sandwiches know how thin that is.
1914		R. Lardner ‘My Roomy’ in Coll. Short Stories (1941) 328: They took him in the dinin’ room and they tell me he inhaled about four meals at once.
1934		Wodehouse Right Ho, Jeeves 2: Angela nearly got inhaled by a shark.
1946		R.L. Bellem ‘Homicide Surprise’ in Speed Detective Feb. 🌐 She came drifting into the Trocambo [...] while I was inhaling supper, and the instant I lamped her I lost my appetite for fried chicken.
1972		D. Jenkins Semi-Tough 559: [He] came straight to the meeting with eight chili cheeseburgers [...] and he inhaled every one of them cats before we got through fifteen minutes of film.
1989		P. Munro Sl. U. 113: I inhaled my lunch because I didn’t have much time to eat.
2006		C. Hiaasen Nature Girl 140: He inhaled a plate of scrambled eggs.
2017		S.M. Jones August Snow [ebook] I eyed the last of the crullers but knew Radmon would soon inhale it.
2023		Twitter 17 Mar. 🌐 [A]ctresses performatively inhaling double cheeseburgers while maintaining a size 00.

2. to drink; thus as n. a gulp, a swallow.

1884		in Life 10 Jan. 18: One of the most powerful tribes that ever [...] inhaled fire-water [HDAS].
1912		Ade Knocking the Neighbors 49–50: She had a spotless Reputation, holding herself down to one Bronx at a Time and always going behind a Screen to do her Inhaling.
1917		O.O. McIntyre New York Day by Day 20 Jan. [synd. col.] The guests [...] smoked cigarettes and inhaled highballs.
1917		O.O. McIntyre New York Day by Day 17 Oct. [synd. col.] And we went to lunch/ And ordered soup / And he took an inhale.
1920		Ade Hand-made Fables 229: At least 40 Blood Relatives who wore Suspenders in the Summer-Time and inhaled from the Saucer.
1938		D. Runyon ‘Tight Shoes’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 468: He [...] calls for an old-fashioned cocktail, and after he inhales this, he calls for three more.
1949		R. Chandler Little Sister 184: I had time to inhale two cups of coffee.
1953		R. Chandler Long Good-Bye 153: She told me, reaching for the fresh drink. She showed me her molars while she inhaled half of it.
1967		B. Jackson Get Your Ass in the Water (1974) 52: I inhaled gas like it was smoke.
1999		T. Dorsey Florida Roadkill 68: Coleman inhaled a Budweiser.

3. (US) to absorb, to take on.

1912		C. Mathewson Pitching in a Pitch 50: Ball players inhale the accounts printed in the newspapers.
1935		M. Fulcher ‘Believe Me’ in Afro-American (Baltimore, MD) 23 Feb. 12/1: They inhale a load of my bandaged pan and this rainbow effect on the eye and let out shrieks.