morsel

1 of 2

noun

mor·​sel ˈmȯr-səl How to pronounce morsel (audio)
1
: a small piece of food : bite
2
: a small quantity : fragment
3
a
: a tasty dish
b
: something delectable and pleasing
4
: a negligible person

morsel

2 of 2

verb

morseled or morselled; morseling or morselling

transitive verb

: to divide into or distribute in small pieces

Examples of morsel in a Sentence

Noun the chef's cuisine is so good that diners will want to savor every morsel searching for any morsel of useful information
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Soon enough the progressive coterie is a reactionary mob, everyone having bitten off a discrete morsel of complaint until nothing is left to defend. Jesse Green, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Tear off a corner of the top slice of bread and use it to slip a little meat off the bone, fold it into a tasty little morsel, and pop it in your mouth. Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 15 Mar. 2024 The hot morsels sit on cool julienne celery root and apple (think rémoulade). Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 Palestinians once saw Rafah as a last refuge, somewhere that had at least a morsel of the basic infrastructure and aid that has been obliterated elsewhere. Alexander Smith, NBC News, 14 Feb. 2024 Place ¾ cup of the chocolate morsels and remaining ½ cup butter in a medium-size microwave-safe bowl. Karen Schroeder-Rankin, Southern Living, 12 Feb. 2024 Although he’s promised to lay out a trail of breadcrumbs along the way, small morsels can’t ever fully satiate a ravenous hunger. Jenna Wang, Peoplemag, 9 Feb. 2024 Toss remaining ½ cup chocolate morsels and 1 tablespoon flour in a small bowl; fold into batter. Karen Schroeder-Rankin, Southern Living, 12 Feb. 2024 And this week, Garten graced us with another morsel of kitchen wisdom: her secret to storing knives. Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 1 Feb. 2024
Verb
The actual act of killing gets morseled out as a tension-creating Big Reveal, fodder for flashforwards and cliffhangers. Darren Franich, EW.com, 28 May 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'morsel.' 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

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, diminutive of mors bite, from Latin morsus, from mordēre to bite — more at mordant

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1598, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of morsel was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near morsel

Cite this Entry

“Morsel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morsel. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

morsel

noun
mor·​sel
ˈmȯr-səl
1
: a small piece of food : bite
2
: a small quantity or piece
Etymology

Noun

Middle English morsel "a small piece of food," from early French morsel (same meaning), from mors "a bite," derived from Latin morsus, past participle of mordēre "to bite" — related to remorse see Word History at remorse

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