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

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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

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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

The bot is privy to every bathroom trip he takes, every morsel of food he consumes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

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 main course, a whole fried sea bream, served with a ginger fish sauce caramel, peanuts, herbs, lemon, and wild pepper leaves to delicately wrap each fried morsel, truly blew me away.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2025

Allow yourself to feel that same sweetness in your heart, knowing that with every morsel of happiness that any one human experiences, the entire vibration of the planet is raised.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2025

He traded one cup to the furrier for a morsel of bread and sheep’s-milk cheese.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

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

Then, the table is blanketed in banchan, side dishes meant to complement and elevate the meal, as well as rice, perilla, lettuce, and endive, to wrap morsels of grilled meat.

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2025

His weeding was turning up bugs and worms, morsels that the crows wanted, he knew, and it put his seedlings at risk.

From "Son" by Lois Lowry

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Related Words

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

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