Navigation
Home
Resources
Irregular verbs quizzes English conjugator English-French dictionary French dictionary English dictionary Monolingual dictionaries Scores by institution Free sample tests FAQ Pricing Tourism training Blog Videos
Login Sign up
Blog
Videos
Pricing
FR EN

gnaw

verb, noun — 4 senses

gnaw

verb

UK /nɔː/ · US /nɔ/

Etymology 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.

1

Ambitransitive To bite something persistently, especially something tough.

  • The dog gnawed the bone until it broke in two.
  • Ten thousand men that fishes gnaw'd uponc. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv], line 25:
2

To produce excessive anxiety or worry.

  • Her comment gnawed at me all day and I couldn't think about anything else.
3

To corrode; to fret away; to waste.

  • VVots thou vvho's returnd, / The unthrift Bonvile, ragged as a ſcarre-crovv / The VVarres have gnavv'd his garments to the skinne: […]1637, Thomas Heywood, The Royall King, and the Loyall Subject. […], London: […] Nich[olas] and John Okes, for James Becket, […], →OCLC, Act III, signature E4, verso:
Derived terms
begnaw, forgnaw, gnawable, gnawer, gnawingly, gnaw someone's vitals, outgnaw, ungnawed, ungnawn
Related terms
nag

gnaw

noun

Etymology 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.

1

The act of gnawing.

  • give something a gnaw
  • have a gnaw of a bone

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

Learn more