nibble
Use Nibble in a sentence
əl 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 followed 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.
00:10
Nibble
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
noun
Idioms 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.
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.
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.
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Link To nibble
Collins
World English Dictionary
nibble (ˈnɪbəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb (when intr, | |
| 1. | (esp of animals, such as mice) to take small repeated bites (of) |
| 2. | to take dainty or tentative bites: to nibble at a cake |
| 3. | to bite (at) gently or caressingly |
| 4. | (intr) to make petty criticisms |
| 5. | (intr) to consider tentatively or cautiously: to nibble at an idea |
| —n | |
| 6. | a small mouthful |
| 7. | an instance or the act of nibbling |
| 8. | informal (plural) small items of food, esp savouries, usually served with drinks |
| [C15: related to Low German nibbelen. Compare | |
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
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
nibble
"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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
nibble definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
nibble definition
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)
Example sentences
The adult beetles nibble on ash foliage but cause little damage.
They prefer to eat grains but will nibble on anything.
They may also nibble on or dig up plants that they do not actually eat.
If pets or wild birds nibble on a rat killed with d-Con, they can become sick.
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