nibble

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to eat something in small bites, often slowly or intermittently

   She began to nibble a biscuit while reading.

2. 2
   verb

   to bite something gently or repeatedly

   The rabbit tried to nibble the edge of the cardboard box.

3. 3
   noun

   a small bite or a small amount of food

   He took one nibble of the cheese and put it back.

4. 4
   noun

   computing: a group of four bits, equal to half a byte

   Each hexadecimal digit can represent one nibble of binary data.

From Late Middle English nebillen or nebyll ("to peck or nibble"), perhaps related to Middle Low German nibbelen; the deeper origin is uncertain and may be imitative. The computing sense, also spelled nybble, was coined as a playful half-sized counterpart to byte.

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