GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Gnaw (na̤), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gnawed (na̤d); p. pr. & vb. n. Gnawing.] [OE. gnawen, AS. gnagan; akin to D. knagen, OHG. gnagan, nagan, G. nagen, Icel. & Sw. gnaga, Dan. gnave, nage.  Cf. Nag to tease.]
   1. To bite, as something hard or tough, which is not readily separated or crushed; to bite off little by little, with effort; to wear or eat away by scraping or continuous biting with the teeth; to nibble at.
   
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   His bones clean picked; his very bones they gnaw. Dryden.
   
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   2. To bite in agony or rage.
   
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   They gnawed their tongues for pain. Rev. xvi. 10.
   
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   3. To corrode; to fret away; to waste.
   
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   4. To trouble in a constant manner; to plague; to worry; to vex; -- usually used with at; as, “his mounting debts gnawed at him”.
   
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2.       
   Gnaw, v. i. To use the teeth in biting; to bite with repeated effort, as in eating or removing with the teeth something hard, unwieldy, or unmanageable.
   
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   I might well, like the spaniel, gnaw upon the chain that ties me. Sir P. Sidney.
   
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