gnawed; gnawing; gnaws
1
a
: to bite or chew on with the teeth
especially
: to wear away by persistent biting or nibbling
a dog gnawing a bone
b
: to make by gnawing
rats gnawed a hole
2
a
: to be a source of vexation to : plague
anxiety always gnawing him
b
: to affect like gnawing
hunger gnawing her vitals
1
: to bite or nibble persistently
gnawing at his underlip
2
: to produce an effect of or as if of gnawing
waves gnawing away at the cliffs
Examples of gnaw in a Sentence
The dog was gnawing a bone.
He nervously gnawed on his fingernails.
Rabbits have gnawed at the hedge.
Rabbits had gnawed a hole in the hedge.
Recent Examples on the Web
Police found the infant unresponsive and said she had been gnawed in the face by the family puppy, a pit bull–German shepherd mix.
—
Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 28 May 2025
Decayed objects gnaw, toys bleed sawdust, and the White Rabbit—stitched-up and glassy-eyed—wields a pair of scissors like a surgical instrument.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 21 May 2025
Often, a vehicle won’t start or fails to operate properly because mice have gnawed through wires in the engine compartment.
—Jim Gorzelany, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
Only 18 months after the collision, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which makes his left side uncoordinated and gnaws away at his memory.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnaw
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 28 May 2025
Decayed objects gnaw, toys bleed sawdust, and the White Rabbit—stitched-up and glassy-eyed—wields a pair of scissors like a surgical instrument.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 21 May 2025
Often, a vehicle won’t start or fails to operate properly because mice have gnawed through wires in the engine compartment.
—Jim Gorzelany, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
Only 18 months after the collision, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which makes his left side uncoordinated and gnaws away at his memory.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnaw
Cite this Entry
“Gnaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gnaw. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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