| 释义 |
[ nib-uhl ] / ˈnɪb əl / SEE SYNONYMS FOR nibble ON THESAURUS.COM
verb (used without object), nib·bled, nib·bling.to bite off small bits. to eat or chew in small bites: Give him a graham cracker to nibble on. to bite, eat, or chew gently and in small amounts (usually followed by at): She was so upset she could only nibble at her food. verb (used with object), nib·bled, nib·bling.to bite off small bits of (something). to eat (food) by biting off small pieces. to bite in small bits: He nibbled each morsel with great deliberation. nouna small morsel or bit: Each nibble was eaten with the air of an epicure. an act or instance of nibbling. a response by a fish to bait on a fishing line. any preliminary positive response or reaction. Idioms for nibblenibble away at, to cause to decrease or diminish bit by bit: Inflation was nibbling away at her savings. The rains nibbled at the loam.Also nibble at.
Origin of nibble1425–75; late Middle English nebillen to peck away at, nibble, try, perhaps <Middle Low German nibbelen to pick with the beak; cf. nib, -le SYNONYMS FOR nibble7 tidbit, bite, taste, crumb. SEE SYNONYMS FOR nibble ON THESAURUS.COM OTHER WORDS FROM nibbleun·nib·bled, adjectiveWords nearby nibbleNiah Cave, Niamey, Niarchos, nib, nibbana, nibble, nibbler, Nibelung, Nibelungenlied, niblick, nibs Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020 Example sentences from the Web for nibbleWill he nibble around the edges, or will he actually take on the oil companies? Clinton’s Environmental Failure|Bill McKibben|December 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST Would he be able to nibble on foie gras, slurp fettuccine Alfredo, and sample chocolate mousse without putting on weight again? Frank Bruni Revealed|Nicki Gostin|August 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST It would have been true too, because I intended to nibble my malted milk tablets behind a magazine. Beatrice Leigh at College|Julia Augusta Schwartz Then his reins pulled loose from the bush and he wandered away to nibble at a tempting bit of turf a little distance away. Jean, Our Little Australian Cousin|Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
He stopped, smelled the bee combs, turned over a few cells with his nose and then began to nibble. Old Farm Fairies:|Henry Christopher McCook This nibble is the nearest approach to a dinner-party that I have had. Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay|George Otto Trevelyan The rabbits were drawn from the timbered ridges to nibble these first spring dainties. The Yellow Horde|Hal G. Evarts
British Dictionary definitions for nibble
verb (when intr, often foll by at)(esp of animals, such as mice) to take small repeated bites (of) to take dainty or tentative bitesto nibble at a cake to bite (at) gently or caressingly (intr) to make petty criticisms (intr) to consider tentatively or cautiouslyto nibble at an idea nouna small mouthful an instance or the act of nibbling (plural) informal small items of food, esp savouries, usually served with drinks Word Origin for nibbleC15: related to Low German nibbelen. Compare nib, neb Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Words related to nibblenip, gnaw, eat, taste, snack, tidbit, peck, crumb, munch, crop, soupçon, eat like a bird |