gnaw
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bite or chew on, especially persistently.
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to wear away or remove by persistent biting or nibbling.
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to form or make by so doing.
to gnaw a hole through the wall.
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to waste or wear away; corrode; erode.
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to trouble or torment by constant annoyance, worry, etc.; vex; plague.
verb (used without object)
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to bite or chew persistently.
The spaniel gnawed happily on a bone.
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to cause corrosion.
The acid gnaws at the metal.
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to cause an effect resembling corrosion.
Her mistake gnawed at her conscience.
verb
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to bite (at) or chew (upon) constantly so as to wear away little by little
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(tr) to form by gnawing
to gnaw a hole
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to cause erosion of (something)
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to cause constant distress or anxiety (to)
noun
Other Word Forms
- gnawable adjective
- gnawer noun
- gnawing adjective
- gnawingly adverb
- outgnaw verb (used with object)
- undergnaw verb (used with object)
- ungnawed adjective
Etymology
Origin of gnaw
before 1000; Middle English gnawen, Old English gnagen; cognate with German nagen, Old Norse gnāga
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.
They hadn’t forced a takeaway in three weeks, a drought that was beginning to gnaw at the players.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2024
While beetles gnaw away and burrow through the phloem under the trees' bark, the much smaller, flightless adelgid sucks out the trees' fluids and leaves behind a toxic saliva.
From Science Daily • May 14, 2024
Then, unprompted, Kravchenko started to talk about his own future, a subject that must gnaw at so many minds after months spent in constant danger.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2024
Only this time, instead of letting the anxiety gnaw at her confidence, she accepted its presence, took a deep breath, and put on the kind of show that is hers and hers alone.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 22, 2023
The four of us exchange worried glances, and guilt begins to gnaw the pit of my stomach.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
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.
