nibble
Americanverb (used without object)
-
nibbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
nibbled,
past participle, past
-
nibbling
present participle
-
to bite off small bits.
-
to eat or chew in small bites.
Give him a graham cracker to nibble on.
-
to bite, eat, or chew gently and in small amounts (usually followed byat ).
She was so upset she could only nibble at her food.
verb (used with object)
-
nibbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
nibbled,
past participle, past
-
nibbling
present participle
-
to bite off small bits of (something).
-
to eat (food) by biting off small pieces.
-
to bite in small bits.
He nibbled each morsel with great deliberation.
noun
-
nibbles
plural
idioms
verb
-
(esp of animals, such as mice) to take small repeated bites (of)
-
to take dainty or tentative bites
to nibble at a cake
-
to bite (at) gently or caressingly
-
(intr) to make petty criticisms
-
(intr) to consider tentatively or cautiously
to nibble at an idea
noun
-
a small mouthful
-
an instance or the act of nibbling
-
informal (plural) small items of food, esp savouries, usually served with drinks
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
nibblesimple
-
nibblessimple
-
have nibbledperfect
-
has nibbledperfect
-
am nibblingprogressive
-
are nibblingprogressive
-
is nibblingprogressive
-
have been nibblingperfect progressive
-
has been nibblingperfect progressive
Past
-
nibbledsimple
-
had nibbledperfect
-
was nibblingprogressive
-
were nibblingprogressive
-
had been nibblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of nibble
1425–75; late Middle English nebillen to peck away at, nibble, try, perhaps < Middle Low German nibbelen to pick with the beak; cf. nib, -le
Explanation
To nibble is to eat in tiny bites. If you nibble your chocolate chip cookie while your sister gobbles hers quickly, yours will last much longer. Your pet rabbit probably nibbles on the carrots you give him, and he might even nibble, or bite very softly, on your fingers. Any one of these gentle or small bites can be called a nibble. The word probably stems from the Low German nibbeln, "to gnaw."
Vocabulary lists containing nibble
Excerpt from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
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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.
See Examples For:
These are given predation umbrellas to protect them from the hungry fish having a nibble.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
"But the larger ants seemed to seek the attention of the smaller ants by first visiting their nests and then allowing the small ants to lick and nibble all over them."
From Science Daily ● Apr. 14, 2026
McDonald’s Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski had taken what social media mocked as a paltry nibble in a video promoting the chain’s new Big Arch burger, or “product,” as the CEO called it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026
The thin-cut vegetables make it easy to nibble a bite at a time, rather than staring down a full head of lettuce in a salad bowl.
From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2026
Instead I nibble the corner of my mouth and let out a doubtful groan.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
Here by the water’s edge, she nibbles on seeds and drinks rainwater, retreating to the house to sleep at night.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
It’s the little things — a bowl of nibbles, a slice of cake, a chair just cleared — that carry the same quiet magic Mrs. Hudson carried into 221B.
From Salon ● Dec. 2, 2025
Not surprisingly, he got all kinds of scholarship offers from top-notch football programs but only nibbles from big-time basketball schools.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2025
An MP accused of flouting Covid-19 rules during a "wine and nibbles" event has been cleared of wrongdoing.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2024
Petey, on the other hand, took delicate nibbles, like a bee sipping at a flower.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
Roses are placed on the tables where supporters nibbled from snack plates, hugged, all smiles, and sipped from glasses of sparkling wine or beer.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
Another giveaway water voles are present are small food stashes and nibbled plants.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
At night, bedbugs nibbled at the 312 people laying like sardines on the floor of Namazi’s section of Ward 4.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
"What that means is that, in the case of the squirrel, it nibbled on aloe and took those metabolites into its own bloodstream," explained Bromage.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 3, 2026
Laura nibbled away exactly half of hers, and Mary nibbled exactly half of hers, and the other halves they saved for Baby Carrie.
From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
I listened politely, nibbling my onion petals in a state of Zen-like detachment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
“Of course, we could still see some more weakness in the group as it digests its recent decline, but we believe it is safe to start nibbling away on these stocks once again,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
He also came to treasure his time mowing the fairways each morning before the golfers arrived, the dew glistening on the grass while the nibbling, untroubled deer looked on from the rough.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
But instead of attacking, the smaller ants climb onto the bigger ones and begin licking and nibbling across their bodies.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 14, 2026
He kept nibbling, spacing, arranging, and rearranging until sleep overcame him and he curled up tight and nodded away.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
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