Nibble definition | Dictionary.com

nib⋅ble

[nib-uh

verb, -bled, -bling, noun

–verb (used without object)

1.	to bite off small bits.

2.	to eat or chew in small bites: Give him a graham cracker to nibble on.

3.	to bite, eat, or chew gently and in small amounts (usually fol. by at): She was so upset she could only nibble at her food.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to bite off small bits of (something).

5.	to eat (food) by biting off small pieces.

6.	to bite in small bits: He nibbled each morsel with great deliberation.

–noun

7.	a small morsel or bit: Each nibble was eaten with the air of an epicure.

8.	an act or instance of nibbling.

9.	a response by a fish to bait on a fishing line.

10.	any preliminary positive response or reaction.

—Idiom

11.	nibble away at, to cause to decrease or diminish bit by bit: Inflation was nibbling away at her savings. The rains nibbled at the loam. Also, nibble at.

Origin:
1425–75; late ME nebillen to peck away at, nibble, try, perh. < MLG nibbelen to pick with the beak; cf. nib, -le

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : Nibble

Spanish:

mordisquear, picar,

German:

knabbern,

Japanese:

かじる

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nib·ble   (nĭb'əl) Pronunciation Key
v.   nib·bled, nib·bling, nib·bles

v.   tr.

To bite at gently and repeatedly.
To eat with small, quick bites or in small morsels: nibble a cracker.
To wear away or diminish bit by bit: "If you start compromising too early . . . they nibble you to death" (People).

v. intr.
To take small or hesitant bites: fish nibbling at the bait.

n.

A very small quantity, especially of food; a morsel.
The act or an instance of nibbling.

[Middle English nebyllen; akin to Low German nibbelen.]

nib'bler n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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nibble (v.)

"to bite gently," c.1500, perhaps from Low Ger. nibbeln "to nibble, gnaw," related to M.L.G. nibbelen, M.Du. knibbelen "to gnaw," source of Du. knibbelen "to cavail, squabble." The noun is first attested 1658.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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nibble
noun
1.	a small byte [syn: nybble]
2.	gentle biting
verb
1.	bite off very small pieces; "She nibbled on her cracker"
2.	bite gently; "The woman tenderly nibbled at her baby's ear"
3.	eat intermittently; take small bites of; "He pieced at the sandwich all morning"; "She never eats a full meal--she just nibbles"

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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nibble data
/nib'l/ (US "nybble", by analogy with "bite" -> "byte") Half a byte. Since a byte is nearly always eight bits, a nibble is nearly always four bits (and can therefore be represented by one hex digit).
Other size nibbles have existed, for example the BBC Microcomputer disk file system used eleven bit sector numbers which were described as one byte (eight bits) and a nibble (three bits).
Compare crumb, tayste, dynner; see also bit, nickle, deckle.
The spelling "nybble" is uncommon in Commonwealth Hackish as British orthography suggests the pronunciation /ni:'bl/.
(1997-12-03)

Nibble

Nib"ble\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Nibbled; p. pr. & vb. n. Nibbling.] [Cf. Nip.] To bite by little at a time; to seize gently with the mouth; to eat slowly or in small bits.

Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep. --Shak.

Nibble

Nib"ble\, v. t. To bite upon something gently or cautiously; to eat a little of a thing, as by taking small bits cautiously; as, fishes nibble at the bait.

Instead of returning a full answer to my book, he manifestly falls a-nibbling at one single passage. --Tillotson.

Nibble

Nib"ble\, n. A small or cautious bite.

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