nibble

[ nib-uhl ]

/ ˈnɪb əl /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR nibble ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), nib·bled, nib·bling.

to bite off small bits.

to eat or chew in small bites: Give him a graham cracker to nibble on.

to bite, eat, or chew gently and in small amounts (usually followed by at): She was so upset she could only nibble at her food.

verb (used with object), nib·bled, nib·bling.

to bite off small bits of (something).

to eat (food) by biting off small pieces.

to bite in small bits: He nibbled each morsel with great deliberation.

noun

a small morsel or bit: Each nibble was eaten with the air of an epicure.

an act or instance of nibbling.

a response by a fish to bait on a fishing line.

any preliminary positive response or reaction.

Nearby words

Idioms

nibble away at, to cause to decrease or diminish bit by bit: Inflation was nibbling away at her savings. The rains nibbled at the loam.Also nibble at.

Origin of nibble

1425–75; late Middle English nebillen to peck away at, nibble, try, perhaps < Middle Low German nibbelen to pick with the beak; cf. nib, -le

SYNONYMS FOR nibble

7. tidbit, bite, taste, crumb.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR nibble ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsun·nib·bled, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for nibble

Will he nibble around the edges, or will he actually take on the oil companies?
Clinton’s Environmental Failure|Bill McKibben|December 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Would he be able to nibble on foie gras, slurp fettuccine Alfredo, and sample chocolate mousse without putting on weight again?
Frank Bruni Revealed|Nicki Gostin|August 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
It would have been true too, because I intended to nibble my malted milk tablets behind a magazine.
Beatrice Leigh at College|Julia Augusta Schwartz
Then his reins pulled loose from the bush and he wandered away to nibble at a tempting bit of turf a little distance away.
Jean, Our Little Australian Cousin|Mary F. Nixon-Roulet

He stopped, smelled the bee combs, turned over a few cells with his nose and then began to nibble.
Old Farm Fairies:|Henry Christopher McCook
This nibble is the nearest approach to a dinner-party that I have had.
Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay|George Otto Trevelyan
The rabbits were drawn from the timbered ridges to nibble these first spring dainties.
The Yellow Horde|Hal G. Evarts

British Dictionary definitions for nibble

nibble

/ (ˈnɪbəl) /

verb (when intr, often foll by at)

(esp of animals, such as mice) to take small repeated bites (of)

to take dainty or tentative bitesto nibble at a cake

to bite (at) gently or caressingly

(intr) to make petty criticisms

(intr) to consider tentatively or cautiouslyto nibble at an idea

noun

a small mouthful

an instance or the act of nibbling

(plural) informal small items of food, esp savouries, usually served with drinks

Word Origin for nibble

C15: related to Low German nibbelen. Compare nib, neb

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 nibble

nibble

"to bite gently," c.1500, perhaps from Low German nibbeln "to nibble, gnaw," related to Middle Low German nibbelen, Middle Dutch knibbelen "to gnaw," source of Dutch knibbelen "to cavail, squabble." Related: Nibbled; nibbling.

nibble

1650s, "act of nibbling," from nibble (v.). As "a small bite," from 1838.

nibble

verb (used without object), nib·bled, nib·bling.

verb (used with object), nib·bled, nib·bling.

noun

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of nibble

Examples from the Web for nibble

nibble

verb (when intr, often foll by at)

noun

Word Origin for nibble

nibble

nibble