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
What gnaws at me: my own mouth, now hindered and harbored by this night guard.
—
Abbie Kiefer, The Atlantic, 16 Nov. 2025
The Bulls gnaw at glimpses of magnificence, when the cycle of cutting and screening and passing suggests cohesion.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
And again there was the question that had gnawed at me often during my stay.
—David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025
But one photo, far less gruesome, has been gnawing at me for weeks.
—Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnaw at
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Abbie Kiefer, The Atlantic, 16 Nov. 2025
The Bulls gnaw at glimpses of magnificence, when the cycle of cutting and screening and passing suggests cohesion.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
And again there was the question that had gnawed at me often during my stay.
—David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025
But one photo, far less gruesome, has been gnawing at me for weeks.
—Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 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 1 Dec. 2025.
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