nibble
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.
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.
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.
Idioms about nibble
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
1Other words for nibble
Other words from nibble
- un·nib·bled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use nibble in a sentence
It was a culture nibbling on the genial jingoism of Norman Vincent Peale and being made somewhat uncomfortable by Adlai Stevenson.
This “double whammy” of predation and competition enables jellyfish to cripple a food chain by essentially nibbling at its ankles.
Beware at the Beach, the Jellyfish Rule the Seas and It’s Our Fault | Lisa-ann Gershwin | June 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe man who wrote about hulking linebackers nibbling melon in the Texas dusk.
In the Cavour high school in central Rome, mice run through the halls, nibbling on open wiring and nesting in the lockers.
The more perfectly the star in question feeds the pre-existing stereotype of foie gras-nibbling limousine liberalism, the better.
The GOP’s Two-Faced Celeb Bashing of Obama’s Parker-Wintour Fundraiser | Michelle Cottle | June 14, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
But Brindle tarried behind and foraged for her supper by nibbling the grass from the overgrown dooryard.
Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn RaymondKano pensively lifted a plum upon the point of a toothpick and began nibbling at its wrinkled skin.
The Dragon Painter | Mary McNeil FenollosaHe kept on pulling at one twig after another with his trunk, nibbling and wasting everything.
Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji"Master Colombaik feared you had been nibbling the goods on the way," one of the young tanners observed with a laugh.
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman | Eugne SueA slight greeting on the ends of her lips, some hurried words, and she returned to the noble battalion nibbling vigorously away.
The Nabob | Alphonse Daudet
British Dictionary definitions for nibble
/ (ˈnɪbəl) /
(esp of animals, such as mice) to take small repeated bites (of)
to take dainty or tentative bites: to nibble at a cake
to bite (at) gently or caressingly
(intr) to make petty criticisms
(intr) to consider tentatively or cautiously: to nibble at an idea
a small mouthful
an instance or the act of nibbling
(plural) informal small items of food, esp savouries, usually served with drinks
Origin of nibble
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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