morsel

American  

[mawr-suhl] / ˈmɔr səl /

noun

• morsels
  plural

1. a bite, mouthful, or small portion of food, candy, etc.

2. a small piece, quantity, or amount of anything; scrap; bit.

3. something very appetizing; treat or tidbit.

4. a person or thing that is attractive or delightful.

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verb (used with object)

1. to distribute in or divide into tiny portions (often followed byout ).

   to morsel out the last pieces of meat.

morsel British  

/ ˈmɔːsəl /

noun

1. a small slice or mouthful of food

2. a small piece; bit

3. informal a term of endearment for a child

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• morsels
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

morsel morsels

Deeply personal lyrics, hours of video and hundreds of social media posts can feel like a gift for devoted fans who want to pick through every morsel their favourite singer throws their way.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

The cattle shortage has led companies to try to cut costs and scrape every morsel of meat off each cattle carcass.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025

Anchored by its leads, “Coup!” is a tasty morsel of social commentary about problems that continue to plague our world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2024

“It makes a reality show out of William and Kate, and Harry and Meghan and Charles and Camilla. And we become glued to our phone screens for the next morsel of gossip.”

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2024

The morsel of cake vanished in a twinkling.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

X, Instagram, and Truth Social reduce complexities once aerated in newspaper articles into media morsels.

From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026

“Martin Scorsese All the Films” is filled with such morsels, making for an engrossing book—provided you don’t mind the occasional political asides.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

A few years back he started coming to the door every morning, and he gets a few morsels.

From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026

On assignment for People magazine in 2005, Weiss attempts to sneak onto Brad Pitt’s beachfront compound in Santa Barbara, hoping to grab some tasty morsels about the megastar’s new relationship with Jolie.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2025

The babies clustered around to snatch unguarded morsels.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Related Words

• chunk
• crumb
• hunk
• mouthful
• snack
• tidbit