nibble

«nibble» in Mova's school dictionary: To eat something by taking very small bites — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (nibble, nibbles, nibbled, nibbling); noun (a nibble; nibbles)

meaning for a pupil

1) To eat something by taking very small bites. tree →

2) Of animals or fish: to bite gently: «A fish nibbled my toe». tree →

3) (noun) A small bite: «take a nibble». tree →

4) (nibbles, UK informal) Small snacks at a party, like crisps and nuts. tree →

5) Nibble can also be a fond pet name for someone you love, as in "my nibble darling". tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories and science lessons about animals: mice, rabbits and hamsters nibble with their sharp front teeth (rodent teeth keep growing). In fishing: «a nibble on the line». In everyday life and party talk: «nibbles and drinks».

examples

• The mouse nibbled the cheese. tree →
• My rabbit nibbles carrots all day. tree →
• She nibbled her biscuit slowly. tree →
• I felt a fish nibble my toe in the sea. tree →
• Can I have a nibble of your chocolate? tree →
• Mum put out some nibbles for the guests. tree →
• The caterpillar nibbled holes in the leaf. tree →
• "Come to me, my nibble darling!" said he. tree →

note

Regular verb: nibbled. Double «b». «Nibble» is a small, slow bite; «gulp» and «gobble» are big and fast. «Nibbles» (UK) = party snacks.

In the corpora

• Many dogs nibble grass and it is usually normal; scientists are not fully sure why, and wolves eat some plants too.
• Rats are cautious with new food: they nibble a little and wait to see whether they feel ill.
• Earlier, Alice nibbles a mushroom to grow and shrink and talks with a hookah-smoking Caterpillar.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «nibble» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.