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gnaw - 5 dictionary results

gnaw

  [naw] verb, gnawed, gnawed or gnawn, gnaw⋅ing.
Use gnaw in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to bite or chew on, esp. persistently.
2. to wear away or remove by persistent biting or nibbling.
3. to form or make by so doing: to gnaw a hole through the wall.
4. to waste or wear away; corrode; erode.
5. to trouble or torment by constant annoyance, worry, etc.; vex; plague.
–verb (used without object)
6. to bite or chew persistently: The spaniel gnawed happily on a bone.
7. to cause corrosion: The acid gnaws at the metal.
8. to cause an effect resembling corrosion: Her mistake gnawed at her conscience.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME gnawen, OE gnagen; c. G nagen, ON gnāga

Related forms:
gnaw⋅a⋅ble, adjective
gnawer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To gnaw
gnaw   (nô)   
v.   gnawed, gnaw·ing, gnaws

v.   tr.
    1. To bite, chew on, or erode with the teeth.
    2. To produce by gnawing: gnaw a hole. See Synonyms at bite.
    3. To erode or diminish gradually as if by gnawing: waves gnawing the rocky shore.
  2. To afflict or worry persistently: fear that constantly gnawed me.
v.   intr.
  1. To bite or chew persistently: The dog gnawed at the bone.
  2. To cause erosion or gradual diminishment.
  3. To cause persistent worry or pain: Hunger gnawed at the prisoners.

[Middle English gnauen, from Old English gnagan.]
gnaw'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Gnaw

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

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : gnaw
Spanish: roer,
German: zernagen,
Japanese: かじる
More Translations »

gnaw 
O.E. gnagan (pt. *gnog, pp. gnagan), a common Gmc. word (cf. O.S. gnagan, O.N. gnaga, M.Du. knagen, Ger. nagen), probably imitative of gnawing.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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