nibble
UK /ˈnɪbl̩/ · US /ˈnɪb(ə)l/ verb, noun
Forms nibbles nibbling nibbled nibblest nibbledst nibbleth nybble nybl
- verb To take a small, quick bite, or several of such bites, of (something). “The rabbit nibbled the lettuce.”
- verb To lightly bite (a person or animal, or part of their body), especially in a loving or playful manner; to nip.
- verb To make (a hole in something) through small bites.
- verb To make (one's way) through or while taking small bites. “Before he realized it, he had nibbled his way through a whole bag of potato chips.”
- verb Chiefly followed by into or to: to cause (something) to be in a certain state through small bites.
- verb Followed by away, off, etc.: to remove (something) through small bites.
- verb To remove (small pieces) from glass, tile, etc., with a tool; also, to remove small pieces from (glass, tile, etc.) with a tool.
- verb To fidget or play with (something), especially with the fingers or hands.
- noun An act of taking a small, quick bite, or several of such bites, especially with the front teeth; the bite or bites so taken.
- noun A light bite of a person or animal, or part of their body, especially one which is loving or playful; a nip.
- noun An amount of food that is or can be taken into the mouth through a small bite; a small mouthful.
- noun (figurative) A slight show of interest in something, such as a commercial opportunity or a proposal.
- noun (obsolete, rare) Grass or other vegetation eaten by livestock; forage, pasturage.
- noun (computing) A unit of memory equal to half a byte, or chiefly four bits.
Synonyms
Etymology
The verb is derived from Late Middle English nebillen, nebyll (“to peck away at (something), nibble; (figurative) to attempt to sing (a part of a song)”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Middle Low German nibbelen (“to eat in small bites, peck”) (modern German Low German nibbeln, gnibbeln, knibbeln), possibly a variant of knabbelen, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gnet- (“to press”) or imitative.
The noun is derived from the verb.
* Middle Dutch cnibbelen (modern Dutch knibbelen (“to gnaw; to murmur”), nibbelen (“to nibble”))
* Saterland Frisian nibje (“to nibble”)
* West Frisian knibbelje
A pun on the homophony of byte and bite.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To bite by little at a time; to seize gently with the mouth; to eat slowly or in small bits.
- verb 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.
- noun A small or cautious bite.
Etymology [Cf. Nip.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “nibble”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details