nibble

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Food

nib·ble1 /ˈnɪbəl/ verb  1  [intransitive, transitive]DFEAT to eat small amounts of food by taking very small bites 啃；一点一点地咬[吃] He nibbled the biscuit cautiously. 他小心地啃着饼干。nibble at There’s a fish nibbling at my bait. 有条鱼正在咬我的鱼饵。nibble on He nibbled on a piece of raw carrot. 他啃着一根生胡萝卜。► see thesaurus at bite →4  See picture of 见图 BITE 12  [transitive] to gently bite someone in a loving way 轻咬 He began to nibble her ear affectionately. 他开始深情地轻咬她的耳朵。3 nibble away at something phrasal verb REDUCEto take away small amounts of something so that the total amount is gradually reduced 慢慢地削弱；蚕食 All these expenses are nibbling away at our savings. 所有这些开支正在一点一点地耗掉我们的积蓄。 The Scottish National Party is beginning to nibble away at Labour’s majority. 苏格兰民族党正开始一步步削弱工党的多数派地位。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

nibble• Reyes puts out nuts and bread for squirrels to nibble.• The kind of nose that flirts with the idea of being stroked and kissed and nibbled.• She thinks perhaps small fish are nibbling at her, but it is pleasant, it doesn't hurt.• Once again she threw herself into his arms, unable to control her emotions, and nibbled at his neck.• He reached into the bowl, took out one of the mushrooms and nibbled at its blue surfaces.• Wally took her in his arms and began nibbling her ear.• Creamy, blue-veined Dolcelatte is the perfect way to round off your meals and delicious to nibble in between.• Wally turned to me and began to nibble my car.• They went to wherever there were cut-down branches, nibbling off the buds.• We stood around drinking wine and nibbling on little snacks.• The horse lowered his head and began to nibble the grass.

Related topics: Food

nibble2 noun  1  DFEAT[countable] a small bite of something 一小口nibble of She took a nibble of her cookie. 她咬了一小口曲奇。2. nibbles [plural] informalDFFDL small things to eat, like crisps and peanuts, especially at a party 少量食品；〔尤指聚会上的〕小吃3  INTERESTED[singular] a small amount of interest in something 对某事略微的兴趣 We’ve had the house on the market for a month and not even had a nibble yet. 我们把房子挂牌出售一个月了，至今仍无人问津。

Examples from the Corpus

nibble• It's so weak, so dismissive, like the girl's body was a cupcake and you took a nibble.• One of the kids tried a nibble of the bread.• A few licks and attempted nibbles quickly disillusioned him.• We've had a few nibbles from potential buyers.• Sip a Beefeater martini, nibble salted nuts, pray for himself, pray for the world.• They add bulk to your diet and make healthy between-meal nibbles.• But there were no nibbles from Alvin, so Williams joined the Graham company in 1963.• They would sip sherry or port, nibble at the nuts and raisins and allow themselves to wallow in the warm softness.• Giant amphipods, the size of rats, appear out of nowhere to nibble on the remains.Origin nibble1 (1500-1600) Perhaps from Low German nibbeln “to chew bits off”

nib·ble1 verbnibble2 nounChineseSyllable  

eat of small by taking food to Corpus amounts

nibble

I

nib‧ble¹ /ˈnɪbəl/ verb
1. [intransitive and transitive] to eat small amounts of food by taking very small bites:
    He nibbled the biscuit cautiously.
    nibble at
    There’s a fish nibbling at my bait.
    nibble on
    He nibbled on a piece of raw carrot.
2. [transitive] to gently bite someone in a loving way:
    He began to nibble her ear affectionately.
     
nibble away at something phrasal verb
  to take away small amounts of something so that the total amount is gradually reduced:
    All these expenses are nibbling away at our savings.
    The Scottish National Party is beginning to nibble away at Labour’s majority.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ bite to use your teeth to cut, crush, or chew something: The dog bit me! | I sometimes bite my fingernails when I’m nervous. | He bit into the apple.
   ▪ chew to keep biting something that is in your mouth: Helen was chewing a piece of gum. | He was chewing on a cigar.
   ▪ gnaw if an animal gnaws something, it bites it repeatedly: The dog was in the yard gnawing on a bone.
   ▪ nip somebody/give somebody a nip to give someone or something a small sharp bite: When I took the hamster out of his cage, he nipped me.
   ▪ nibble to take a lot of small bites from something: A fish nibbled at the bait. | She sat at her desk, nibbling her sandwich.
   ▪ sink your teeth into somebody/something to bite someone or something with a lot of force, so that your teeth go right into them: The dog sank its teeth into my leg. | He sank his teeth into the steak.
   ▪ chomp on something informal to bite something and chew it in a noisy way: The donkey was chomping on a carrot. | He was chomping away on big slice of toast.
   ▪ sting if an insect stings you, it makes a very small hole in your skin. You use sting about bees, wasps, and scorpions, and bite about mosquitoes, ants, spiders, and snakes: She stepped on a wasps’ nest and must have been stung at least 20 times.

II

nibble² noun
1. [countable] a small bite of something
    nibble of
    She took a nibble of her cookie.
2. nibbles [plural] informal small things to eat, like crisps and peanuts, especially at a party
3. [singular] a small amount of interest in something:
    We’ve had the house on the market for a month and not even had a nibble yet.