释义 |
verb | noun nibblenibble1 /ˈnɪbəl/ ●○○ verb ETYMOLOGYnibble1Origin: 1500-1600 Perhaps from Low German nibbeln to chew bits off VERB TABLEnibble |
Present | I, you, we, they | nibble | | he, she, it | nibbles | Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | nibbled | Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have nibbled | | he, she, it | has nibbled | Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had nibbled | Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will nibble | Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have nibbled |
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Present | I | am nibbling | | he, she, it | is nibbling | | you, we, they | are nibbling | Past | I, he, she, it | was nibbling | | you, we, they | were nibbling | Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been nibbling | | he, she, it | has been nibbling | Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been nibbling | Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be nibbling | Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been nibbling |
THESAURUSfood► eat to put food in your mouth and swallow it: Eat your sandwich. Would you like something to eat (=some food)? ► have to eat or drink a particular thing: What would you like to have for dinner? ► consume formal to eat or drink something. Used especially in writing: Coffee is consumed by millions of people every day. ► devour formal to eat something very quickly: The hungry children devoured the food on their plates and asked for more. ► overeat to eat too much, or eat more than is healthy: I overate at lunch and now I feel a little sick. ► nibble (on) something to take small bites of something and eat only a little bit of it: Sarah nibbled on a cookie and sipped her coffee. ► pick at something to eat only a little bit of your food because you are not hungry: He only picked at his dinner. ► munch (on) to eat something in a slightly noisy or messy way. Often used about animals or children: The beaver sat at the edge of the pond munching on tree bark. ► ingest formal to eat or swallow something. Used in scientific language: If too much of the substance is ingested, vomiting will occur. [intransitive, transitive] a)to eat small amounts of food by taking very small bites: We put out nuts for the squirrels to nibble.nibble at/on Guests were nibbling on hors d'oeuvres. b)to gently bite something, as a sign of sexual attraction► see thesaurus at eatnibble (away) at something phrasal verb1to keep reducing something by taking small amounts from it SYN eat into: House expenses are nibbling away at our savings.2to begin to deal with something in a small way: A few studies have begun to nibble at the issue of healthcare costs. verb | noun nibblenibble2 noun [countable] 1a small bite of something: One of the kids tried a nibble of the bread.2nibbles [plural] small things to eat, especially at a party: a selection of cocktail nibbles3an expression of slight interest in an offer or suggestion: We’ve had a few nibbles from potential buyers. |