gnawing
Use Gnawing in a sentence
ɪŋ noun
1.
the act of a person or thing that gnaws.
2.
Usually, gnawings. persistent, dull pains; pangs: the gnawings of hunger.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object)
1.
to bite or chew on, especially 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:
before 1000; Middle English gnawen, Old English gnagen; cognate with German nagen, Old Norse gnāga
before 1000; Middle English gnawen, Old English gnagen; cognate with German nagen, Old Norse gnāga
Related forms
gnaw·a·ble, adjective
gnaw·er, noun
out·gnaw, verb (used with object), out·gnawed, out·gnawed or out·gnawn, out·gnaw·ing.
un·der·gnaw, verb (used with object)
un·gnawed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To gnawing
00:10
Gnawing
is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
gnaw (nɔː) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb (when intr, | |
| 1. | to bite (at) or chew (upon) constantly so as to wear away little by little |
| 2. | (tr) to form by gnawing: to gnaw a hole |
| 3. | to cause erosion of (something) |
| 4. | to cause constant distress or anxiety (to) |
| —n | |
| 5. | the act or an instance of gnawing |
| [Old English gnagan; related to Old Norse gnaga, Old High German gnagan] | |
| 'gnawable | |
| —adj | |
| 'gnawer | |
| —n | |
| 'gnawing | |
| —adj, —n | |
| 'gnawingly | |
| —adv | |
| gnaw (nɔː) | |
| —vb (when intr, | |
| 1. | to bite (at) or chew (upon) constantly so as to wear away little by little |
| 2. | (tr) to form by gnawing: to gnaw a hole |
| 3. | to cause erosion of (something) |
| 4. | to cause constant distress or anxiety (to) |
| —n | |
| 5. | the act or an instance of gnawing |
| [Old English gnagan; related to Old Norse gnaga, Old High German gnagan] | |
| 'gnawable | |
| —adj | |
| 'gnawer | |
| —n | |
| 'gnawing | |
| —adj, —n | |
| 'gnawingly | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
Example sentences
The teeth would be more suitable for gnawing than for slicing or cutting.
The police here work in the face of a gnawing contradiction.
The gnawing ache sent him to the mirror to look for a possible source.
On stubby legs they crawl over one another, gnawing on any protruding ear, limb or nose.
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