morsel
Americannoun
-
morsels
plural
-
a bite, mouthful, or small portion of food, candy, etc.
-
a small piece, quantity, or amount of anything; scrap; bit.
-
something very appetizing; treat or tidbit.
-
a person or thing that is attractive or delightful.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a small slice or mouthful of food
-
a small piece; bit
-
informal a term of endearment for a child
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Charlotte's Web
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Witches" by Roald Dahl, Chapters 1–5
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
In it, Aadhya carefully feeds her grandmother a morsel of food.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 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
The only otter seen on Thursday was way off shore, floating on its back atop a kelp bed — presumably eating some tasty morsel, such as a crab or abalone, retrieved from the sea floor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2025
I'm really fine with not needing to optimize every morsel I consume for maximum nutrition and health.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2024
Mother brought me my share and instructed that I eat every morsel.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
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
To feed, each bird spins on the surface, kicking water outward to create a whirling upwelling that brings morsels to its needle-like bill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2025
The babies clustered around to snatch unguarded morsels.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
