nibble

[nib-uhl]

verb (used without object)

nibbled, nibbling 

1. to bite off small bits.

2. to eat or chew in small bites.

   Give him a graham cracker to nibble on.

3. to bite, eat, or chew gently and in small amounts (usually followed byat ).

   She was so upset she could only nibble at her food.

verb (used with object)

nibbled, nibbling 

1. to bite off small bits of (something).

2. to eat (food) by biting off small pieces.

3. to bite in small bits.

   He nibbled each morsel with great deliberation.

noun

1. a small morsel or bit.

   Each nibble was eaten with the air of an epicure.

   Synonyms: crumb, taste, bite, tidbit

2. an act or instance of nibbling.

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

4. any preliminary positive response or reaction.

nibble

/ ˈnɪbəl /

verb

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

2. to take dainty or tentative bites

   to nibble at a cake

3. to bite (at) gently or caressingly

4. (intr) to make petty criticisms

5. (intr) to consider tentatively or cautiously

   to nibble at an idea

noun

1. a small mouthful

2. an instance or the act of nibbling

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

Other Word Forms

• unnibbled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nibble¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of nibble¹

C15: related to Low German nibbelen. Compare _nib , _neb

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. nibble away at, to cause to decrease or diminish bit by bit: Also nibble at.

   Inflation was nibbling away at her savings. The rains nibbled at the loam.

Example Sentences

She would nibble at it inside the tent, out of sight from other children whose parents couldn’t afford to buy their kids fruit.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Maybe this could be the start of something — a recurring salon, a tradition, a place where people could nibble pastries and say bright, approving things about me.

Read more on Salon

“We set him up with a heated tent, a selection of sandwiches and nibbles and some excellent beverages, and then he attended a board meeting remotely,” McCallum says.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Western sanctions have not been biting the Russian economy, though they have nibbled away at state revenues.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She pushes the tubes inside the boxes and bees nibble at the mixture.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• eat 
• gnaw 
• nip