This construction is frequently used metaphorically, i.e. not in the sense of literal, physical ingestion by a living being, but in a figurative sense of something being gradually damaged or made to disappear, e.g. 'Cuts in the public sector eat away at one of the few parts of the economy with a relatively even geographical distribution' (BNC).

Ingestion munch E.g. I munched away at my apple and toyed with a piece of cheese as I tried to concentrate on their views on Karl Marx. nibble E.g. Other companies follow you in and start nibbling away at your potential market share by offering specialised niche and entry level products. eat E.g. The acid began to eat away at the edge of her tunic. Lexical items without a frame: chomp E.g. If you have caterpillars still happily chomping away at your over-wintering cabbages and sprouts, then the Suffolk Naturalists' Society would like to know about it.