Gnaw , v. i. To use the teeth
in biting; to bite with
repeated effort, as in eating or
removing with the teethsomething
hard, unwiedly, or
unmanageable.
I might well, like the spaniel, gnaw upon the chain that ties me.
Sir P. Sidney.
Gnaw (n&add;),
v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gnawed (n&add;d); p.
pr. & vb. n. Gnawing.]
[OE.
gnawen, AS. gnagan; akin to D.
knagen, OHG. gnagan, nagan, G.
nagen, Icel. & Sw. gnaga, Dan.
gnave, nage. Cf. Nag to tease.] 1.
To bite, as something hard or tough, which is not readily separated or crushed; to bite off little by little, with effort; to wear or eat away by scraping or continuous biting with the teeth; to nibble at.
His bones clean
picked; his very bones they gnaw.
Dryden.
2. To bite in agony
or rage.
They gnawed their tongues for pain.
Rev. xvi. 10.
3. To corrode; to fret away; to
waste.
Hear it pronounced