Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
nibble
nib′ble
,Noun.
1.
A small or cautious bite.
Webster 1828 Edition
Nibble
NIBBLE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To bite by little at a time; to eat slowly or in small bits. So sheep are said to nibble the grass.2.
To bite, as a fish does the bait; to carp at; just to catch by biting.NIBBLE
,Verb.
I.
1.
To bite at; as, fishes nibble at the bait.2.
To carp at; to find fault; to censure little faults.Instead of returning a full answer to my book, he manifestly nibbles at a single passage.
NIBBLE
,Noun.
Definition 2024
Nibble
nibble
nibble
See also: Nibble
English
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɪbəl
Noun
nibble (plural nibbles)
- A small, quick bite taken with the front teeth.
- (in the plural, nibbles) Small snacks such as crisps/potato chips or nuts, often eaten to accompany drinks.
Derived terms
Translations
a small, quick bite taken with the front teeth
small snacks
Verb
nibble (third-person singular simple present nibbles, present participle nibbling, simple past and past participle nibbled)
- (transitive) To eat with small, quick bites.
- The rabbit nibbled the lettuce.
- 2 November 2014, Alex James in The Guardian, The day I came face-to-face with a tiger
- Giant parrots nibbled seed from the children's fingertips and my sister peeled a couple of satsumas for the lemurs.
- 1911, Rudyard Kipling, Big Steamers
- "For the bread that you eat and the biscuits you nibble,
- The sweets that you suck and the joints that you carve,
- They are brought to you daily by all us Big Steamers--
- And if anyone hinders our coming you'll starve!"
- (transitive) To bite lightly.
- He nibbled at my neck and made me shiver.
- (figuratively) To consume gradually.
- 11 May 2011, Ann Carrns in The New York Times, Prepaid Cards Subject Jobless to Host of Fees
- A report out this week from the National Consumer Law Center lays out a host of ways in which banks nibble away at jobless benefits with fees the center called “junk.”
- 11 May 2011, Ann Carrns in The New York Times, Prepaid Cards Subject Jobless to Host of Fees
Derived terms
Translations
eat with small bites
|
bite lightly
|
Etymology 2
From nibble, punning on the homophony of byte and bite
Alternative forms
Noun
nibble (plural nibbles)
- (computing) A unit of memory equal to half a byte, or four bits.[1]
- 1993, Richard E. Haskell, Introduction to computer engineering (page 287)
- That is, the lower nibble (the 4 bits 1010 = A) has been masked to zero.
- 1993, Richard E. Haskell, Introduction to computer engineering (page 287)
Translations
(computing) A unit of memory equal to half a byte, or four bits