Gnaw
verb
To chew something slowly and continuously.
The dog spent hours gnawing on the bone.
Often appears as...
- gnaw at the bone
- gnaw on something
verb
To cause anxiety or discomfort.
The thought of the upcoming exam was gnawing at him.
Often appears as...
- gnaw at one's mind
- gnaw at one's conscience
verb
To destroy or wear away gradually.
The sea gnawed at the coastline over the years.
Often appears as...
- gnaw at the surface
- gnaw away at the foundation
verb
To chew something slowly and continuously.
The dog spent hours gnawing on the bone.
Often appears as...
- gnaw at the bone
- gnaw on something
verb
To cause anxiety or discomfort.
The thought of the upcoming exam was gnawing at him.
Often appears as...
- gnaw at one's mind
- gnaw at one's conscience
verb
To destroy or wear away gradually.
The sea gnawed at the coastline over the years.
Often appears as...
- gnaw at the surface
- gnaw away at the foundation
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Animals and Gnawing
Most commonly, 'gnaw' is used when animals chew on objects.
The rabbit was gnawing on a carrot.
Pro Tip 2/3Continuous Action
'Gnaw' emphasizes a slow, continuous chewing action, often without eating.
She gnawed contemplatively on her pencil.
Pro Tip 3/3Physical Texture
Use 'gnaw' when describing chewing hard, tough, or resilient materials.
He gnawed on the tough bread crust.
Pro Tip 1/3Animals and Gnawing
Most commonly, 'gnaw' is used when animals chew on objects.
The rabbit was gnawing on a carrot.
Pro Tip 2/3Continuous Action
'Gnaw' emphasizes a slow, continuous chewing action, often without eating.
She gnawed contemplatively on her pencil.
Pro Tip 3/3Physical Texture
Use 'gnaw' when describing chewing hard, tough, or resilient materials.
He gnawed on the tough bread crust.
Pro Tip 1/3Animals and Gnawing
Most commonly, 'gnaw' is used when animals chew on objects.
The rabbit was gnawing on a carrot.
Pro Tip 2/3Continuous Action
'Gnaw' emphasizes a slow, continuous chewing action, often without eating.
She gnawed contemplatively on her pencil.
Pro Tip 3/3Physical Texture
Use 'gnaw' when describing chewing hard, tough, or resilient materials.
He gnawed on the tough bread crust.
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Video examples
Why some people are more...
by putting his own life in danger. This man ran across four lanes of freeway traffic in the middle of the night to bring me back to safety after a car accident that could have killed me. And the whole thing left me really shaken up, obviously, but it also left me with this kind of burning, gnawing need
Video examples
The history of the world...
Vermin were a major scourge of the seven seas. They ate provisions and gnawed at lines of rope, so cats had long since become essential sailing companions. Around the same time these Anatolian globe trotting cats set sail, the Egyptians domesticated their own local cats.
Video examples
Neil Turok: 2008 TED...
And we try to convince ourselves -- we really try to convince ourselves they're wrong. That's when we prove things wrong. And gradually, we hopefully move closer and closer to understanding the world. As I pursued my career, something was always gnawing away inside me.
Video examples
Stunning Photos of the...
is that we have this gnawing thing in the back of our mind that even in our darkest moments, and those times of despair, we think, "Hey, there might be an image to be made here, there might be a story to be told." And why is storytelling important?
Video examples
Symbiosis: A surprising...
and whitebark feed the forest. Their cones are packed with protein. Squirrels gnaw the cones from the upper branches so they fall to the ground, and then race down to bury them in piles, or middens. But they don't get to keep all of them;
Video examples
There's more to life...
Even though life is getting objectively better by nearly every conceivable standard, more people feel hopeless, depressed and alone. There's an emptiness gnawing away at people, and you don't have to be clinically depressed to feel it.
Video examples
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala:...
for what they are trying to do on the continent -- but I'm also worried. I wake up with a gnawing in my belly because I see a new set of aid entrepreneurs on the continent. And they're also going from country to country,
Video examples
The tale of the boy who...
he would be free from his task. Back at the village, the youth declared that there was a mouse gnawing at the root of the tree, and an enormous toad blocking the well. The villagers rewarded him handsomely for his help.
Video examples
Strange Japanese Sea...
can grow to 12 feet across they're also known as the dead man's crab because they've been found gnawing on the bodies of drowning victims now let's go eat a deeper this submarine can descend down
Video examples
Brian Cox Meets an...
teeth are very unusual for a primate in fact unique because they carry on growing so she's much more like a rodent in that respect and that's so she can gnaw into wood see I eyes have filled a
Video examples
Why some people are more...
by putting his own life in danger. This man ran across four lanes of freeway traffic in the middle of the night to bring me back to safety after a car accident that could have killed me. And the whole thing left me really shaken up, obviously, but it also left me with this kind of burning, gnawing need
Video examples
The history of the world...
Vermin were a major scourge of the seven seas. They ate provisions and gnawed at lines of rope, so cats had long since become essential sailing companions. Around the same time these Anatolian globe trotting cats set sail, the Egyptians domesticated their own local cats.
Video examples
Neil Turok: 2008 TED...
And we try to convince ourselves -- we really try to convince ourselves they're wrong. That's when we prove things wrong. And gradually, we hopefully move closer and closer to understanding the world. As I pursued my career, something was always gnawing away inside me.
Video examples
Stunning Photos of the...
is that we have this gnawing thing in the back of our mind that even in our darkest moments, and those times of despair, we think, "Hey, there might be an image to be made here, there might be a story to be told." And why is storytelling important?
Video examples
Symbiosis: A surprising...
and whitebark feed the forest. Their cones are packed with protein. Squirrels gnaw the cones from the upper branches so they fall to the ground, and then race down to bury them in piles, or middens. But they don't get to keep all of them;
Video examples
There's more to life...
Even though life is getting objectively better by nearly every conceivable standard, more people feel hopeless, depressed and alone. There's an emptiness gnawing away at people, and you don't have to be clinically depressed to feel it.
Video examples
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala:...
for what they are trying to do on the continent -- but I'm also worried. I wake up with a gnawing in my belly because I see a new set of aid entrepreneurs on the continent. And they're also going from country to country,
Video examples
The tale of the boy who...
he would be free from his task. Back at the village, the youth declared that there was a mouse gnawing at the root of the tree, and an enormous toad blocking the well. The villagers rewarded him handsomely for his help.
Video examples
Strange Japanese Sea...
can grow to 12 feet across they're also known as the dead man's crab because they've been found gnawing on the bodies of drowning victims now let's go eat a deeper this submarine can descend down
Video examples
Brian Cox Meets an...
teeth are very unusual for a primate in fact unique because they carry on growing so she's much more like a rodent in that respect and that's so she can gnaw into wood see I eyes have filled a
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Camille Paglia
American Author
Working moms commonly testify that they feel guilty when they are away from their children and guilty when they are not at their jobs. Devoted fathers certainly miss their children deeply, but it does not seem to be with the same gnawing, primal anxiety that often afflicts women.
Quote examples
Jordin Sparks
American Musician
It's really hard when people write nasty things about you all the time. As much as good things are said about you, it's always those one or two bad comments that really stay with you and gnaw at you. I try not to read that stuff if I can.
Quote examples
Richard Wright
American Novelist
I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.
Quote examples
Michael Winter
Canadian Writer
The truth is, everybody falls into an incinerator of some measure or other. Not literally one. The question is what are you going to do with those bad times? Are you just going to let them gnaw at you?
Quote examples
Charles Saatchi
British Businessman
I don't know very many people in the art world, only socialise with the few I like, and have little time to gnaw my nails with anxiety about any criticism I hear about.
Quote examples
Sarah McLachlan
Canadian Musician
I'm not one to sit and wallow - I would rather figure out a way around so I can move past it and be at peace with things. I don't like bad feelings gnawing away at me.
Quote examples
Carl Jung
Swiss Psychologist
Our heart glows, and secret unrest gnaws at the root of our being. Dealing with the unconscious has become a question of life for us.
Quote examples
William J. Clinton
American President
It's heartbreaking to see so many people trapped in a web of enforced idleness, deep debt, and gnawing self-doubt.
Quote examples
Henry David Thoreau
American Author
Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.
Quote examples
Thomas Huxley
English Scientist
Time, whose tooth gnaws away everything else, is powerless against truth.
Quote examples
Camille Paglia
American Author
Working moms commonly testify that they feel guilty when they are away from their children and guilty when they are not at their jobs. Devoted fathers certainly miss their children deeply, but it does not seem to be with the same gnawing, primal anxiety that often afflicts women.
Quote examples
Jordin Sparks
American Musician
It's really hard when people write nasty things about you all the time. As much as good things are said about you, it's always those one or two bad comments that really stay with you and gnaw at you. I try not to read that stuff if I can.
Quote examples
Richard Wright
American Novelist
I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.
Quote examples
Michael Winter
Canadian Writer
The truth is, everybody falls into an incinerator of some measure or other. Not literally one. The question is what are you going to do with those bad times? Are you just going to let them gnaw at you?
Quote examples
Charles Saatchi
British Businessman
I don't know very many people in the art world, only socialise with the few I like, and have little time to gnaw my nails with anxiety about any criticism I hear about.
Quote examples
Sarah McLachlan
Canadian Musician
I'm not one to sit and wallow - I would rather figure out a way around so I can move past it and be at peace with things. I don't like bad feelings gnawing away at me.
Quote examples
Carl Jung
Swiss Psychologist
Our heart glows, and secret unrest gnaws at the root of our being. Dealing with the unconscious has become a question of life for us.
Quote examples
William J. Clinton
American President
It's heartbreaking to see so many people trapped in a web of enforced idleness, deep debt, and gnawing self-doubt.
Quote examples
Henry David Thoreau
American Author
Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.
Quote examples
Thomas Huxley
English Scientist
Time, whose tooth gnaws away everything else, is powerless against truth.
Example 1 of 10
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