nibble.
To take a small, quick bite, or several of such bites, of (something).
Meaning & usage
To take a small, quick bite, or several of such bites, of (something).
The rabbit nibbled the lettuce.
To lightly bite (a person or animal, or part of their body), especially in a loving or playful manner; to nip.
To make (a hole in something) through small bites.
To make (one's way) through or while taking small bites.
Before he realized it, he had nibbled his way through a whole bag of potato chips.
The cows nibbled their way across the field.
Chiefly followed by into or to: to cause (something) to be in a certain state through small bites.
Followed by away, off, etc.: to remove (something) through small bites.
Followed by away, off, etc.: to remove (something) through small bites. To remove (small pieces) from glass, tile, etc., with a tool; also, to remove small pieces from (glass, tile, etc.) with a tool.
To fidget or play with (something), especially with the fingers or hands.
To catch (someone); to nab.
To steal (something); to pilfer.
Chiefly followed by at, away, or on: to take a small, quick bite, or several of such bites; to eat (at frequent intervals) with small, quick bites.
The rabbit nibbled at the lettuce.
To lightly bite, especially in a loving or playful manner.
He nibbled at my neck and made me shiver.
Chiefly followed by at: to show slight interest in something, such as a commercial opportunity or a proposal.
Followed by away at: to reduce or use up gradually; to eat.
Followed by at: of a batter: to make an indecisive attempt to bat a ball bowled outside the off stump.
Synonym of tramline (“of a vehicle: to tend to follow the contours of the ground with its wheels”).
To fidget or play, especially with the fingers or hands.
Chiefly followed by at: to make insignificant complaints; to carp, to cavil, to find fault.
To engage in sexual intercourse.
Where this word comes from
The verb is derived from Late Middle English nebillen, nebyll (“to peck away at (something), nibble; (figurative) to attempt to sing (a part of a song)”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Middle Low German nibbelen (“to eat in small bites, peck”) (modern German Low German nibbeln, gnibbeln, knibbeln), possibly a variant of knabbelen, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gnet- (“to press”) or imitative. The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates * Middle Dutch cnibbelen (modern Dutch knibbelen (“to gnaw; to murmur”), nibbelen (“to nibble”)) * Saterland Frisian nibje (“to nibble”) * West Frisian knibbelje
An act of taking a small, quick bite, or several of such bites, especially with the front teeth; the bite or bites so taken.
A light bite of a person or animal, or part of their body, especially one which is loving or playful; a nip.
An amount of food that is or can be taken into the mouth through a small bite; a small mouthful.
A slight show of interest in something, such as a commercial opportunity or a proposal.
Grass or other vegetation eaten by livestock; forage, pasturage.
Where this word comes from
The verb is derived from Late Middle English nebillen, nebyll (“to peck away at (something), nibble; (figurative) to attempt to sing (a part of a song)”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Middle Low German nibbelen (“to eat in small bites, peck”) (modern German Low German nibbeln, gnibbeln, knibbeln), possibly a variant of knabbelen, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gnet- (“to press”) or imitative. The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates * Middle Dutch cnibbelen (modern Dutch knibbelen (“to gnaw; to murmur”), nibbelen (“to nibble”)) * Saterland Frisian nibje (“to nibble”) * West Frisian knibbelje
A unit of memory equal to half a byte, or chiefly four bits.
Where this word comes from
A pun on the homophony of byte and bite.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.