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
Tabo’s mother’s gnawing sense of guilt is fully parsed and inhabited, even as the murderous compulsion of her son is left untouched.
—
Katie Kitamura, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
For her part, Janney plays Macy with lots of warmth but also a gnawing sense of disappointment.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 13 June 2025
Pavement’s early music was scratchy and eccentric, built on guitars that gnawed and eked their way through songs.
—Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
Sacramento County health inspectors closed a local Rite Aid drugstore after discovering roughly 140 rodent droppings, gnaw marks and other evidence of a vermin infestation.
—Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
updated July 11, Sacbee.com, 11 July 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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Katie Kitamura, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
For her part, Janney plays Macy with lots of warmth but also a gnawing sense of disappointment.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 13 June 2025
Pavement’s early music was scratchy and eccentric, built on guitars that gnawed and eked their way through songs.
—Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
Sacramento County health inspectors closed a local Rite Aid drugstore after discovering roughly 140 rodent droppings, gnaw marks and other evidence of a vermin infestation.
—Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
updated July 11, Sacbee.com, 11 July 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 3 Aug. 2025.
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