Link Centre Dictionary

gnaw

UK/nɔː/ US/nɔ/ uncommon

verb

1.

bite or chew on with the teeth

  • “gnaw an old cracker”
  • “chewed on a cookie”
2.

become ground down or deteriorate

  • “Her confidence eroded”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English gnawen, gnaȝen, from Old English gnagan, from Proto-West Germanic *gnagan, from Proto-Germanic *gnaganą (“to gnaw”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *gʰnēgʰ- (“to gnaw, scratch”). Cognate with Dutch knagen, German nagen, Danish gnave (“to gnaw”), Norwegian Bokmål gnage, Norwegian Nynorsk gnaga, Swedish gnaga.

Phrases

  • gnaw someone's vitals

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.