食くい込こむ

く

い

こ

む

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

食い込む · godan verb (-mu)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	食くい込こむ	食くい込こまない
Polite	食くい込こみます	食くい込こみません
Past polite	食くい込こみました	食くい込こみませんでした
Past	食くい込こんだ	食くい込こまなかった
Te-form	食くい込こんで	食くい込こまないで
Desire	食くい込こみたい	食くい込こみたくない
Potential	食くい込こめる	食くい込こめない
Passive	食くい込こまれる	食くい込こまれない
Causative	食くい込こませる	食くい込こませない
Causative passive	食くい込こませられるalso 食くい込こまされる	食くい込こませられないalso 食くい込こまされない
Volitional	食くい込こもう
Polite volitional	食くい込こみましょう
Imperative	食くい込こめ	食くい込こむな
Conditional	食くい込こめば	食くい込こまなければ
Tara conditional	食くい込こんだら	食くい込こまなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-mu), intransitive verb

bite into; cut into; dig into

Physical sense: something presses or cuts into a surface or flesh, often causing discomfort or a mark. Common with ropes, straps, fingernails, or tight clothing.

重おもい荷に物もつで肩かたにひもが食くい込こんだ。
The strap bit into my shoulder from the heavy luggage.
爪つめが手てのひらに食くい込こむほど強つよく握にぎった。
I clenched my fist so hard that my nails dug into my palm.

godan verb (-mu), intransitive verb

eat into; encroach; make inroads; erode

Figurative use: something gradually reduces or takes over a resource, market, position, or time. Often used in business, sports, and scheduling contexts.

新しん興こう企き業ぎょうが大おお手てのシェアに食くい込こんでいる。
Startups are eating into the major companies' market share.
残ざん業ぎょうで自じ由ゆう時じ間かんがどんどん食くい込こまれた。
Overtime work has been eating into my free time more and more.

godan verb (-mu), intransitive verb

ride up; get wedged (underwear)

vulgar expression or word

Vulgar/casual: underwear becomes uncomfortably wedged between the buttocks. Often used in the phrase パンツが食い込む.

このパンツ、すぐ食くい込こむから嫌いやだ。
I hate these underpants; they ride up right away.

See all 22 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉が〈場ば所しょ〉に食くい込こむfor something (a rope, strap, etc.) to dig into a part of the body
ロープが手て首くびに食くい込こんで痛いたい。
The rope dug into my wrist and it hurts.
〈数かず〉位いに食くい込こむto break into a ranking (e.g. the top ten)
彼かれは初しょ出しゅつ場じょうで上じょう位い10位いに食くい込こんだ。
He broke into the top 10 in his first appearance.
〈場ば所しょ〉に食くい込こむto make inroads into a market or territory
その企き業ぎょうは海かい外がい市し場じょうに食くい込こむことに成せい功こうした。
The company succeeded in making inroads into the overseas market.
〈時とき〉に食くい込こむto eat into a scheduled block of time
会かい議ぎが長なが引びいて、昼ひる休やすみに食くい込こんでしまった。
The meeting ran long and ate into the lunch break.
パンツが食くい込こむfor underwear to ride up uncomfortably
動うごくとパンツが食くい込こんで気きになる。
When I move, my underwear rides up and it bothers me.

Kanji

食eat, food
込crowded, mixture, in bulk

Related words

めり込こむ sense 1
めり込む describes something sinking or embedding into a surface (like a nail into wood), while 食い込む specifically describes something biting or pressing into flesh or fabric, often causing discomfort.
侵しん食しょく sense 2
侵食する is a formal, technical word for erosion or encroachment (e.g. of land, rights, or influence), while 食い込む is the more everyday word for gradually eating into a market, schedule, or ranking.

Don't confuse with

食くい違ちがうN1
食い違う means for opinions or facts to differ or clash, while 食い込む means to cut or dig into something; despite sharing the kanji 食い, the meanings are unrelated.

Word family

食くい込こみ
digging in; cutting into · inroads; encroachment; eating into · deficit; loss · wedgie

Written forms

食くい込こむUsage86%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency form in news and general use.
くいこむUsage13%
食くい込こむUsage1%
Less common variant without okurigana い; learners should prefer 食い込む.

Etymology

Compound of 食い (continuative form of 食う 'to eat') + 込む 'to go into'. Literally 'to eat into', extended to physical cutting and figurative encroachment.