nosh

American  

[nosh] / nɒʃ /

verb (used without object)

noshes, present (3rd person singular) noshed, past participle, past noshing present participle

1. to snack or eat between meals.

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verb (used with object)

noshes, present (3rd person singular) noshed, past participle, past noshing present participle

1. to snack on.

   They noshed peanuts and cookies while watching television.

noun

1. a snack.

nosh British  

/ nɒʃ /

noun

1. food or a meal

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verb

1. to eat

Usage

What does nosh mean? Nosh means to eat, especially by snacking, as in When I work from home it’s hard not to nosh all day. It also means to munch on or snack on something, as in I’m getting a little hungry, so I’m just going to nosh on crackers to tide me over until dinner. It can also be a noun meaning a snack, as in Let’s have a little nosh before the movie.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nosher
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• noshing
  present
• noshed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• nosh
  simple
• noshes
  simple
• have noshed
  perfect
• has noshed
  perfect
• am noshing
  progressive
• are noshing
  progressive
• is noshing
  progressive
• have been noshing
  perfect progressive
• has been noshing
  perfect progressive

Past

• noshed
  simple
• had noshed
  perfect
• was noshing
  progressive
• were noshing
  progressive
• had been noshing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will nosh
  simple
• will have noshed
  perfect
• will be noshing
  progressive
• will have been noshing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of nosh

1955–60; < Yiddish nashn; Middle High German naschen, Old High German nascōn to nibble, gnaw; cognate with Danish naske, Swedish snaska

Explanation

To nosh is to have a snack. You might nosh on a slice of cold pizza and a handful of chocolate chips after school. Many people like to nosh on popcorn while watching movies, and you could nosh on the cookies you baked for the school bake sale. You can also call a meal a nosh, especially if it's just a snack: "Let's have a nosh before we head back out on the hiking trail." Nosh comes from the Yiddish word -nashn, "nibble," and its earliest use in English, around 1917, was as a shortened form of nosh-house, or "restaurant."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nosh noshes noshed noshing

So make sure you’re washing your vegetables, and anything you leave outside that you might nosh on later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2025

Members can nosh on Moroccan Mediterranean fare from Cafe Mogador in the “living room” of the space.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025

Coming over to nosh on pizza and binge-watch trashy reality television doesn’t require a host gift, said Huffpost’s Brie Dyas.

From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2023

Pints sling across the counter to construction workers wearing ski pants, while windburned teenagers — Lessar and his pals — nosh chicken barbecue pizza and play Battleship.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 8, 2023

“Excellent nosh, Petunia. It’s normally just a fry-up for me of an evening, with twelve dogs to look after....”

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

For beer noshes, there are Ooshiba Yakitori & Sushi and the Osaka Street Food counter; the latter makes gyoza, takoyaki and other Asian street bites, like Taiwanese fried chicken.

From Seattle Times ● May 8, 2024

The Vegas-based chain specializes in seafood boils and deep-fried noshes.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 17, 2023

With respect to the players, some of D.C.’s best chefs and restaurants also shared the spotlight, featuring mostly light, refreshing bites — many seafood inspired — with a couple of comfort food noshes mixed in.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 31, 2023

We imagine most people’s Thanksgivings to be long meals that may begin with snacks and noshes, extend through appetizers and main courses and end, perhaps hours later, with desserts.

From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2021

All I know is that my three favorites noshes in 2019 came from the hands of women.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 20, 2019

Sandwiched between laborers, he noshed on a cheeseburger as caterers circled the area with platters of hot dogs and steamed lobster.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025

The neighborhoods' smallest residents noshed on hallacas, leaving their faces caked in the crumbs.

From Reuters ● Dec. 23, 2022

The lively bar felt like a different galaxy in August as a mixed crowd noshed on innovative dishes like vegan Reuben sandwiches, Vietnamese-style wings and sipped throwback RC Cola.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 2, 2022

She also joined Latina leaders for a “Las Mujeres por Karen Bass” event at La Placita Olvera and noshed with local leaders at the annual Boyle Heights Taco Festival over the weekend.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2022

And on trips to the island as a kid, I had patties in Kingston that were noshed on the go after crossing three lanes of rush-hour traffic on foot.

From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2022

There, she found joy noshing on chicken tenders, turkey legs and Mickey Mouse cookies.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025

Harbaugh watched last week’s game at Maryland with his brother, John, at his house and their wives while noshing on snacks and sandwiches.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2023

The digital rendition of Venus, goddess of love, based on Sandro Botticelli’s Renaissance masterpiece “Birth of Venus,” can be seen noshing on pizza and snapping selfies for her Instagram page.

From Washington Times ● May 6, 2023

It’s a favorite with eaters of all ages, whether it’s kids hankering for an after-school snack or grown-ups noshing at a party.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 28, 2022

The advice which Roland Clewe gave to Samuel Block was simple enough and perhaps unnecessary, but there was noshing else for him to say.

From The Great Stone of Sardis by Stockton, Frank Richard