gnaw at
phrasal verb
gnawed at; gnawing at; gnaws at
: to be a source of worry or concern to (someone)
This problem has been gnawing at me day and night.
She says she's fine, but I can see that something is gnawing at her.
Examples of gnaw at in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But what Grier did not say that day in January has gnawed at me for months.
—
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2025
The filmmaker recalls how the distance from the sea and the seeming impossibility of return gnawed at her mother’s spirit.
Yalla Parkour works well when Zuaiter lets the two narratives — her mother’s and Matar’s — speak for themselves.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
While the future lurks in the back of everyone’s mind in Detroit, a moment from last October gnawed at Skubal all winter.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
The mine hasn’t seen a mechanical shovel gnawing at the earth since November.
—Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnaw at
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Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2025
The filmmaker recalls how the distance from the sea and the seeming impossibility of return gnawed at her mother’s spirit.
Yalla Parkour works well when Zuaiter lets the two narratives — her mother’s and Matar’s — speak for themselves.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
While the future lurks in the back of everyone’s mind in Detroit, a moment from last October gnawed at Skubal all winter.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
The mine hasn’t seen a mechanical shovel gnawing at the earth since November.
—Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnaw at
Cite this Entry
“Gnaw at.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gnaw%20at. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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