gnaw

Study(1)

/nɔː/

verb 3noun 1

Collocations

VERB + GNAW

constrain, don't, going, like, likes, started

GNAW + NOUN

crust, fingernails, insides, mouse, other's

PREP.

down, in, off, on, until

ADV.

rather, sometimes

Definitions

verb

To bite something persistently, especially something tough.

The dog gnawed the bone until it broke in two.

Ten thousand men that fishes gnaw'd upon

To produce excessive anxiety or worry.

Her comment gnawed at me all day and I couldn't think about anything else.

To corrode; to fret away; to waste.

VVots thou vvho's returnd, / The unthrift Bonvile, ragged as a ſcarre-crovv / The VVarres have gnavv'd his garments to the skinne: […]

noun

The act of gnawing.

have a gnaw of a bone

Thesaurus

Synonyms

verb — become ground down or deteriorate

erode

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

gnaw someone's vitals

To deeply trouble (someone).

Example Bank

The dog gnawed the bone until it broke in two.

Wiktionary

Ten thousand men that fishes gnaw'd upon

Wiktionary

Her comment gnawed at me all day and I couldn't think about anything else.

Wiktionary

have a gnaw of a bone

Wiktionary

My dog likes to gnaw on bones.

Tatoeba · #2451745

"But ne'er the town, by Destiny assigned, / your walls shall gird, till famine's pangs constrain / to gnaw your boards, in quittance for our slain."

Tatoeba · #7020650

Usage Notes

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