noun
Refers to the act of eating, often used in compound words or set phrases like 食いしん坊 (glutton) or 食い逃げ (dine and dash).
彼は食いしん坊で、いつも何か食べている。
He's a glutton and is always eating something.
食い逃げは犯罪です。
Dine and dash is a crime.
noun
Specific to fishing; refers to a fish taking the bait. Often used in phrases like 食いがいい (the fish are biting well).
今日は食いが悪くて、一匹も釣れなかった。
The fish weren't biting today, so I didn't catch a single one.
The common verb 'to eat', while 食い is the noun form often used in compounds.
Means 'meal' or 'dining', a more formal term compared to the casual noun 食い.
The noun form of the verb 食う (くう, 'to eat'), which is a more casual or masculine alternative to 食べる. The fishing sense is a metaphorical extension of 'biting'.