gnash

[nash]

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verb (used with object)

to grind or strike (the teeth) together, especially in rage or pain.

to bite with grinding teeth.

verb (used without object)

to gnash the teeth.

noun

an act of gnashing.

Origin of gnash

1490–1500; variant of obsolete gnast, Middle English gnasten; compare Old Norse gnastan gnashing of teeth

Related formsgnash·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for gnash

grate, crush, clamp, rub, grit

Examples from the Web for gnash

Historical Examples of gnash

Then she would stare at the child and gnash her teeth as though with hate.
Allan's Wife
H. Rider Haggard
Men and women will gnash their teeth against their own children.
Modern Persia
Mooshie G. Daniel
Coming back in the cars, I had a rencontre that makes me gnash my teeth yet.
A Confederate Girl's Diary
Sarah Margan Dawson
With them I can with one gnash divide a knight in half at the waist.
The Days of Chivalry
Ernest Louis Victor Jules L'Epine
He did so; Jeanne hearkened; and then it was Sweder's turn to gnash his teeth.
The Story of Brussels
Ernest Gilliat-Smith

British Dictionary definitions for gnash

gnash

verb

to grind (the teeth) together, as in pain or anger

(tr) to bite or chew as by grinding the teeth

noun

the act of gnashing the teeth

Derived Formsgnashingly, adverb

Word Origin for gnash

C15: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse gnastan gnashing of teeth, gnesta to clatter

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gnash

early 15c., variant of Middle English gnasten "to gnash the teeth" (c.1300), perhaps from Old Norse gnastan "a gnashing," of unknown origin, probably imitative. Cf. German knistern "to crackle." Related: Gnashed; gnashing.