: either of two small wood-boring marine isopods (Limnoria lignorum and L. tripunctata)
Examples of gribble in a Sentence
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The two most common borers are a kind of shipworm called Teredo navalis, which is actually a wormlike clam, and tiny crustaceans known as gribbles.
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New York Times, 13 Sep. 2019
The scientists discovered that gribbles use hemocyanins to attack the strong bonds of lignin.
—David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 5 Dec. 2018
Deep-sea wood borers (Xylophaga, a genus of bivalve mollusks) take over where shallow water gribbles and shipworms left off.
—Brian Payton, Smithsonian, 9 Feb. 2018
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New York Times, 13 Sep. 2019
The scientists discovered that gribbles use hemocyanins to attack the strong bonds of lignin.
—David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 5 Dec. 2018
Deep-sea wood borers (Xylophaga, a genus of bivalve mollusks) take over where shallow water gribbles and shipworms left off.
—Brian Payton, Smithsonian, 9 Feb. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Gribble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gribble. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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