'Gnaw' definitions:

Definition of 'gnaw'

(from WordNet)
verb
Bite or chew on with the teeth; "gnaw an old cracker"
verb
Become ground down or deteriorate; "Her confidence eroded" [syn: erode, gnaw, gnaw at, eat at, wear away]

Definition of 'Gnaw'

From: GCIDE
  • Gnaw \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. [1913 Webster]
  • I might well, like the spaniel, gnaw upon the chain that ties me. --Sir P. Sidney. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Gnaw'

From: GCIDE
  • Gnaw \Gnaw\ (n[add]), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gnawed (n[add]d); 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. [1913 Webster]
  • His bones clean picked; his very bones they gnaw. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To bite in agony or rage. [1913 Webster]
  • They gnawed their tongues for pain. --Rev. xvi. 10. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To corrode; to fret away; to waste. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To trouble in a constant manner; to plague; to worry; to vex; -- usually used with at; as, his mounting debts gnawed at him. [PJC]

Words containing 'Gnaw'