Definitions for: Gnaw


[v] become ground down or deteriorate; "Her confidence eroded"
[v] bite or chew on with the teeth; "gnaw an old cracker"; "chewed on a cookie"



Webster (1913) Definition: Gnaw, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gnawed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Gnawing.] [OE. gnawen, AS. gnagan; akin to D. knagen, OHG.
gnagan, nagan, G. nagen, Icel. & Sw. gnaga, Dan. gnave, nage.
Cf. Nag to tease.]
1. To bite, as something hard or tough, which is not readily
separated or crushed; to bite off little by little, with
effort; to wear or eat away by scraping or continuous
biting with the teeth; to nibble at.

His bones clean picked; his very bones they gnaw.
--Dryden.

2. To bite in agony or rage.

They gnawed their tongues for pain. --Rev. xvi.
10.

3. To corrode; to fret away; to waste.


Gnaw, v. i.
To use the teeth in biting; to bite with repeated effort, as
in eating or removing with the teethsomething hard, unwiedly,
or unmanageable.

I might well, like the spaniel, gnaw upon the chain
that ties me. --Sir P.
Sidney.

Synonyms: eat at, erode, gnaw at, wear away

See Also: bite, chew, crumble, decay, delapidate, jaw, manducate, masticate, seize with teeth

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