nibble

nibble
nib|ble1 [ˈnıbəl] v
[Date: 1500-1600; Origin: Perhaps from Low German nibbeln 'to chew bits off']
1.) [I and T]
to eat small amounts of food by taking very small bites
He nibbled the biscuit cautiously.
nibble at
There's a fish nibbling at my bait.
nibble on
He nibbled on a piece of raw carrot.
2.) [T]
to gently bite someone in a loving way
He began to nibble her ear affectionately.
nibble away at [nibble away at sth] phr v
to take away small amounts of something so that the total amount is gradually reduced
All these expenses are nibbling away at our savings.
The Scottish National Party is at last beginning to nibble away at Labour's huge majority.
nibble 2
nibble2 n
1.) a small bite of something
nibble of
She took a nibble of her cookie.
2.) nibbles [plural] informal
small things to eat, like ↑crisps and ↑peanuts, especially at a party
3.) a small amount of interest in something
We've had the house on the market for a month and not even had a nibble yet.

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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Synonyms:
, (by nips) / , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • nibble at — nibble (away) at [phrasal verb] nibble (away) at (something) : to make (something) disappear or go away very slowly Police have been nibbling (away) at crime in the city for years. [=police have been very slowly reducing the amount of crime in… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Nibble — Nib ble, v. t. 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. [1913 Webster] Instead of returning a full answer to my book, he manifestly falls a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nibble — [n] morsel, bite crumb, peck, snack, soupçon, taste, tidbit; concepts 458,831 Ant. mouthful nibble [v] bite, pick at crop, eat, eat like a bird*, gnaw, munch, nip*, nosh on*, peck*, snack; concept 169 Ant. gorge …   New thesaurus

  • Nibble — Nib ble, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Nibbled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Nibbling}.] [Cf. {Nip}.] To bite by little at a time; to seize gently with the mouth; to eat slowly or in small bits. [1913 Webster] Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep. Shak.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nibble — ib ble, n. 1. A small or cautious bite. [1913 Webster] 2. Hence: (Fig.) An expression of interest, often tentative, as at the beginning of a sale or negotiation process. [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nibble — ► VERB 1) take small bites out of. 2) gently bite at. 3) gradually erode. 4) show cautious interest in a project. ► NOUN 1) an instance of nibbling. 2) a small piece of food bitten off …   English terms dictionary

  • nibble — [nib′əl] vt. nibbled, nibbling [LME nebyllen, prob. akin to MLowG nibbelen: for IE base see NIP1] 1. to eat (food) with quick bites, taking only a small amount at a time, as a mouse does 2. to bite at with small, gentle bites vi. 1. to take small …   English World dictionary

  • Nibble — This article is about the information storage unit. For other uses, see Nibble (disambiguation). A character table ordered by nibbles. In computing, a nibble (often nybble or even nyble to simulate the spelling of byte) is a four bit… …   Wikipedia

  • nibble — [[t]nɪ̱b(ə)l[/t]] nibbles, nibbling, nibbled 1) VERB If you nibble food, you eat it by biting very small pieces of it, for example because you are not very hungry. [V n] He started to nibble his biscuit... [V at/on n] She nibbled at the corner of …   English dictionary

  • Nibble — Un nibble (ou, plus rarement nybble) est, en informatique, un agrégat de 4 bits, soit un demi octet. Un nibble contenant 4 bits, il peut prendre seize (24) valeurs différentes et correspond donc à un seul chiffre hexadécimal, d où son autre… …   Wikipédia en Français

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