gnaw

verb

gnawed; gnawing; gnaws

transitive verb

1
a
: to bite or chew on with the teeth
especially : to wear away by persistent biting or nibbling
a dog gnawing a bone
b
: to make by gnawing
rats gnawed a hole
2
a
: to be a source of vexation to : plague
anxiety always gnawing him
b
: to affect like gnawing
hunger gnawing her vitals
3

intransitive verb

1
: to bite or nibble persistently
gnawing at his underlip
2
: to produce an effect of or as if of gnawing
waves gnawing away at the cliffs
gnawer noun

Examples of gnaw in a Sentence

The dog was gnawing a bone. He nervously gnawed on his fingernails. Rabbits have gnawed at the hedge. Rabbits had gnawed a hole in the hedge.
Recent Examples on the Web Major blazes in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties are gnawing through sun-baked hillsides, threatening lives and properties and blanketing the region with noxious ash and smoke. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2024 Subsurface chewing insects can be gnawing away at the roots of your lawn grasses leading to a quick collapse of green when the real heat moves in. Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 9 Aug. 2024 Voles are likely to blame when previously-healthy plantings topple over for no apparent reason or when a tree is girdled around its base from gnawing. Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 18 July 2024 The boy went to sleep in his mother’s bedroom the night of Oct. 17, 2023, mere feet from where Gastelum-Vera used a stash of metal foil and cut straws to smoke the opioid as part of a gnawing addiction, authorities alleged. Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 16 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for gnaw 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gnaw.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English gnawen, from Old English gnagan; akin to Old High German gnagan to gnaw

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of gnaw was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near gnaw

Cite this Entry

“Gnaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gnaw. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

gnaw

verb
1
a
: to bite or chew with the teeth
especially : to wear away by repeated biting or nibbling
dog gnawing a bone
b
: to make by gnawing
rats gnawed a hole
2
a
: annoy, irritate
worry gnawed at me day and night
b
: to affect like gnawing
gnawing hunger
gnawer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on gnaw

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