Trends of
gnaw

View usage for:

gnaw

(nɔː)

Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense gnaws, present participle gnawing, past tense, past participle gnawed

1. verb

If people or animals gnaw something or gnaw at it, they bite it repeatedly.

Woodlice attack living plants and gnaw at the stems. [V + at/on]

Melanie gnawed a long, painted fingernail. [VERB noun]

Synonyms: bite, chew, nibble, munch More Synonyms of gnaw

2. verb

If a feeling or thought gnaws at you, it causes you to keep worrying.

[written]

Doubts were already gnawing away at the back of his mind. [VERB + at]

Mary Ann's exhilaration gave way to gnawing fear. [VERB-ing]

Synonyms: distress, worry, trouble, harry More Synonyms of gnaw

More Synonyms of gnaw

gnaw in British English

(nɔː)

verbWord forms: gnaws, gnawing, gnawed, gnawed or gnawn (nɔːn)

1. (when intr, often foll by at or upon)

to bite (at) or chew (upon) constantly so as to wear away little by little

2. (transitive)

to form by gnawing

to gnaw a hole

to cause erosion of (something)

4. (when intr, often foll by at)

to cause constant distress or anxiety (to)

noun

the act or an instance of gnawing

Derived forms

gnawable (ˈgnawable)

adjective

gnawer (ˈgnawer)

noun

gnawing (ˈgnawing)

adjective, noun

gnawingly (ˈgnawingly)

adverb

Word origin

Old English gnagan; related to Old Norse gnaga, Old High German gnagan

gnaw in American English

(nɔ)

verb transitiveWord forms: gnawed, gnawed or Raregnawn, ˈgnawing

to cut, bite, and wear away bit by bit with the teeth

to make by gnawing

to gnaw a hole

to consume; wear away; corrode

to torment, as by constant pain, fear, etc.; harass

verb intransitive

to bite repeatedly

with on, away, at, etc.

to produce a biting, consuming, corroding, eroding, tormenting, etc. effect

with on, at, etc.

waves gnawed away at the shore; fear gnawed on his consciousness

Word origin

ME gnawen < OE gnagen, akin to Ger nagen (OHG gnagan) < IE *ghnēgh < base *ghen-, to gnaw away, rub away > gnash, gnat

Examples of 'gnaw' in a sentence
gnaw

Doubts began to gnaw away at him.Boat builders gnawed with adzes at skeletal timbers.

In other languages
gnaw

British English: gnaw VERB

If people or animals gnaw something or gnaw at it, they bite it repeatedly.

Woodlice attack living plants and gnaw at the stems.

American English: gnaw
Brazilian Portuguese: roer
Chinese: 反复啮咬
European Spanish: roer
French: ronger
German: nagen
Italian: rodere
Japanese: かじる
Korean: 갉아먹다
European Portuguese: roer
Latin American Spanish: roer

Chinese translation of 'gnaw'

gnaw

(nɔː)

vt

[bone] 啃 (kěn)

vi

to gnaw at [guilt, doubt] 折磨 (zhémó)

1 (verb) in the sense of bite

Definition

to bite or chew constantly so as to wear away bit by bit

Woodlice attack living plants and gnaw at the stems.

Synonyms

bite

Llamas won't bite or kick.

chew

Be careful to eat slowly and chew your food well.

nibble

He started to nibble his biscuit.

munch

Sheep were munching their way through a yellow carpet of leaves.

2 (verb) in the sense of distress

Definition

to cause constant distress or anxiety to

Doubts were already gnawing away at the back of his mind.

Synonyms

distress

I did not want to frighten or distress her.

worry

‘Why didn't you tell us?’ – ‘Didn't want to worry you.’

trouble

Is anything troubling you?

harry

He would exploit and harry his workers.

haunt

The memory of his mistakes still haunts him.

plague

I'm not going to plague you with a lot of questions.

nag

the anxiety that had nagged her all through lunch

fret

The quickening of time frets me.

3 (verb) in the sense of erode

This run of bad luck has gnawed away at his usually optimistic character.

Synonyms

erode

Once exposed, soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.

consume

Andrew would consume nearly two pounds of cheese per day.

devour

She devoured half an apple pie.

eat away or into

wear away or down

Additional synonyms

in the sense of chew

Definition

to work the jaws and teeth in order to grind (food)

Be careful to eat slowly and chew your food well.

Synonyms

munch,

bite,

grind,

champ,

crunch,

gnaw,

chomp,

masticate

in the sense of consume

Definition

to eat or drink

Andrew would consume nearly two pounds of cheese per day.

Synonyms

eat,

swallow,

devour,

put away,

gobble (up),

eat up,

guzzle,

polish off (informal),

hoover (informal)

in the sense of devour

Definition

to eat up greedily

She devoured half an apple pie.

Synonyms

eat,

consume,

swallow,

bolt,

dispatch,

cram,

stuff,

wolf,

hoover (informal),

gorge,

gulp,

gobble,

guzzle,

polish off (informal),

pig out on (slang)

Nearby words of
gnaw

gluttony
gnarled
gnat
gnaw
gnawing
go
go (off) crook

Synonyms of 'gnaw'

gnaw

Explore 'gnaw' in the dictionary

单词	gnaw
释义	Trends of gnaw View usage for: gnaw (nɔː) Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense gnaws, present participle gnawing, past tense, past participle gnawed 1. verb If people or animals gnaw something or gnaw at it, they bite it repeatedly. Woodlice attack living plants and gnaw at the stems. [V + at/on] Melanie gnawed a long, painted fingernail. [VERB noun] Synonyms: bite, chew, nibble, munch More Synonyms of gnaw 2. verb If a feeling or thought gnaws at you, it causes you to keep worrying. [written] Doubts were already gnawing away at the back of his mind. [VERB + at] Mary Ann's exhilaration gave way to gnawing fear. [VERB-ing] Synonyms: distress, worry, trouble, harry More Synonyms of gnaw More Synonyms of gnaw gnaw in British English (nɔː) verbWord forms: gnaws, gnawing, gnawed, gnawed or gnawn (nɔːn) 1. (when intr, often foll by at or upon) to bite (at) or chew (upon) constantly so as to wear away little by little 2. (transitive) to form by gnawing to gnaw a hole 3. to cause erosion of (something) 4. (when intr, often foll by at) to cause constant distress or anxiety (to) noun 5. the act or an instance of gnawing Derived forms gnawable (ˈgnawable) adjective gnawer (ˈgnawer) noun gnawing (ˈgnawing) adjective, noun gnawingly (ˈgnawingly) adverb Word origin Old English gnagan; related to Old Norse gnaga, Old High German gnagan gnaw in American English (nɔ) verb transitiveWord forms: gnawed, gnawed or Raregnawn, ˈgnawing 1. to cut, bite, and wear away bit by bit with the teeth 2. to make by gnawing to gnaw a hole 3. to consume; wear away; corrode 4. to torment, as by constant pain, fear, etc.; harass verb intransitive 5. to bite repeatedly with on, away, at, etc. 6. to produce a biting, consuming, corroding, eroding, tormenting, etc. effect with on, at, etc. waves gnawed away at the shore; fear gnawed on his consciousness Word origin ME gnawen < OE gnagen, akin to Ger nagen (OHG gnagan) < IE ghnēgh < base ghen-, to gnaw away, rub away > gnash, gnat Examples of 'gnaw' in a sentence gnaw Doubts began to gnaw away at him. Times, Sunday Times (2015) Boat builders gnawed with adzes at skeletal timbers. Hyland, Paul Indian Balm - Travels in the Southern Subcontinent (1994) In other languages gnaw British English: gnaw VERB If people or animals gnaw something or gnaw at it, they bite it repeatedly. Woodlice attack living plants and gnaw at the stems. American English: gnaw Brazilian Portuguese: roer Chinese: 反复啮咬 European Spanish: roer French: ronger German: nagen Italian: rodere Japanese: かじる Korean: 갉아먹다 European Portuguese: roer Latin American Spanish: roer Chinese translation of 'gnaw' gnaw (nɔː) vt [bone] 啃 (kěn) vi to gnaw at [guilt, doubt] 折磨 (zhémó) 1 (verb) in the sense of bite Definition to bite or chew constantly so as to wear away bit by bit Woodlice attack living plants and gnaw at the stems. Synonyms bite Llamas won't bite or kick. chew Be careful to eat slowly and chew your food well. nibble He started to nibble his biscuit. munch Sheep were munching their way through a yellow carpet of leaves. 2 (verb) in the sense of distress Definition to cause constant distress or anxiety to Doubts were already gnawing away at the back of his mind. Synonyms distress I did not want to frighten or distress her. worry ‘Why didn't you tell us?’ – ‘Didn't want to worry you.’ trouble Is anything troubling you? harry He would exploit and harry his workers. haunt The memory of his mistakes still haunts him. plague I'm not going to plague you with a lot of questions. nag the anxiety that had nagged her all through lunch fret The quickening of time frets me. 3 (verb) in the sense of erode This run of bad luck has gnawed away at his usually optimistic character. Synonyms erode Once exposed, soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain. consume Andrew would consume nearly two pounds of cheese per day. devour She devoured half an apple pie. eat away or into wear away or down Additional synonyms in the sense of chew Definition to work the jaws and teeth in order to grind (food) Be careful to eat slowly and chew your food well. Synonyms munch, bite, grind, champ, crunch, gnaw, chomp, masticate in the sense of consume Definition to eat or drink Andrew would consume nearly two pounds of cheese per day. Synonyms eat, swallow, devour, put away, gobble (up), eat up, guzzle, polish off (informal), hoover (informal) in the sense of devour Definition to eat up greedily She devoured half an apple pie. Synonyms eat, consume, swallow, bolt, dispatch, cram, stuff, wolf, hoover (informal), gorge, gulp, gobble, guzzle, polish off (informal), pig out on (slang) Nearby words of gnaw gluttony gnarled gnat gnaw gnawing go go (off) crook Synonyms of 'gnaw' gnaw Explore 'gnaw' in the dictionary
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Trends ofgnaw

gnaw

gnaw in British English

gnaw in American English

Examples of 'gnaw' in a sentencegnaw

In other languagesgnaw

Chinese translation of 'gnaw'

gnaw

vt

vi

Additional synonyms

Nearby words ofgnaw

Synonyms of 'gnaw'

gnaw

Trends of
gnaw

Examples of 'gnaw' in a sentence
gnaw

In other languages
gnaw

Nearby words of
gnaw