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nibble

verb · noun

Simple meaning

Bite off very small pieces.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

nibuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈnɪbəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Bite off very small pieces

  2. transitive

    To take a small, quick bite, or several of such bites, of (something).

  3. transitive

    To lightly bite (a person or animal, or part of their body), especially in a loving or playful manner; to nip.

  4. Bite gently

    “The woman tenderly nibbled at her baby's ear.”

  5. intransitivefigurative

    Chiefly followed by at: to show slight interest in something, such as a commercial opportunity or a proposal.

  6. intransitivefigurative

    (cricket, informal) Followed by at: of a batter: to make an indecisive attempt to bat a ball bowled outside the off stump.

noun

  1. A small byte

  2. An act of taking a small, quick bite, or several of such bites, especially with the front teeth; the bite or bites so taken.

  3. An amount of food that is or can be taken into the mouth through a small bite; a small mouthful.

  4. figurative

    A slight show of interest in something, such as a commercial opportunity or a proposal.

  5. A light bite of a person or animal, or part of their body, especially one which is loving or playful; a nip.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Bite off very small pieces

Used this way, nibble is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Mild
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use nibble

  • “The woman tenderly nibbled at her baby's ear.”verb
  • “She nibbled on her cracker.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

nibble awayorder nibbleupper nibblenibble mode

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.