morsel
Americannoun
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a bite, mouthful, or small portion of food, candy, etc.
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a small piece, quantity, or amount of anything; scrap; bit.
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something very appetizing; treat or tidbit.
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a person or thing that is attractive or delightful.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a small slice or mouthful of food
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a small piece; bit
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informal a term of endearment for a child
Etymology
Origin of morsel
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French, equivalent to mors a bite (< Latin morsum something bitten off, noun use of neuter of morsus, past participle of mordēre to bite) + -el < Latin -ellus diminutive suffix; see -elle
Explanation
A morsel is a small amount of something, a tid-bit, a sliver, usually of something of high-quality and much desired — like a morsel of dark chocolate or a morsel of secret information. Originally it referred specifically to food — a nineteenth century lady might partake of a "dainty morsel" to eat, for example. More often than not morsel now refers to non-food items: a morsel of good taste; a morsel of common sense, and, of course, most popular of all, a morsel of gossip. That's why, like all good food, all good gossip is juicy.
Vocabulary lists containing morsel
Eat Your Words
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Charlotte's Web
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"The Witches" by Roald Dahl, Chapters 1–5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Joiner scored 21 points, Morsel had 14, and each made a 3 on consecutive baskets to end the first half.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 15, 2022
Choosing a Flaky Morsel for Armageddon Brunch Let it be said henceforth that a quiche is nothing to sneeze at.
From New York Times • Oct. 22, 2012
Every Last Morsel aims to have users locate their garden on a map in order to then promote neighborhood sales and trades of food.
From Forbes • Jun. 11, 2012
Werner, Gunter, Fritzl, Morsel and Joe," read, "Got to close now.
From Time Magazine Archive
In the interim Dinner is gone up, and the Mercer invites his fair Customer to take a Family Morsel with him, before they went to St. James's.
From The Tricks of the Town: or, Ways and Means of getting Money by Thomson, John, fl. 1732
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
