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nibble at

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nib⋅ble

  [nib-uhl] verb, -bled, -bling, noun
Use nibble at in a Sentence
–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

Synonyms:
7. tidbit, bite, taste, crumb.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
nibble

  1. n.
    a cautious or preliminary response to something. (See also nybble.) : My advertisement got three nibbles this morning.
  2. in.
    to reply cautiously or tentatively to something. : I hope someone who wants to buy my car nibbles at the description I posted on the Internet.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

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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