From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englisheatereat‧er /ˈiːtə $ -ər/ noun [countable] → big/light/fussy etc eaterCOLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUN + eater a big eater (=someone who usually eats large meals)I'm not a very big eater.a good eater (=someone who eats all the food on their plate)All her children were good eaters.a healthy eater (=someone who eats healthy food)Do you think healthy eaters live longer?a picky/fussy eater (=someone who will only eat a few particular things, and is difficult to please)My son’s a very picky eater, and only eats bread and peanut butter.a messy eater (=someone who drops food and makes a mess when they eat)He's a very messy eater – he leaves crumbs all over the floor.a noisy eater (=someone who makes unpleasant noises with their mouth as they eat)I can't stand noisy eaters!a compulsive eater (=someone who cannot stop themselves eating too much)Most compulsive eaters suffer from a range of psychological problems.a meat eater (=a person or animal that that eats meat)I’m not a big meat eater, but I do like chicken.a plant eater (=an animal that only eats plants)Most insects are plant eaters.
Examples from the Corpus
eater• One thing is clear: Daily News readers are big bagel eaters.• My husband is not a big dessert eater, and the only dessert he will order is a Snickersbar cake.• These three are fairly trouble free eaters, also suitable for planting in any district.• I had been resisting the whole idea of focus groups-when you went out and talked to pickle eaters.• If you are not a regular eater of such food, insist firmly that the chilli content is severely reduced.• And Tim I thought the sausage eaters stuff was hilarious.• The eaters were lo-cals; they looked us up and down when we went in. 