nibble

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈnɪbəl/ UK /ˈnɪbl̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #18757

Meanings

1

verb
to eat something in small bites, often slowly or intermittently

She began to nibble a biscuit while reading.
2

verb
to bite something gently or repeatedly

The rabbit tried to nibble the edge of the cardboard box.
3

noun
a small bite or a small amount of food

He took one nibble of the cheese and put it back.
4

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

Each hexadecimal digit can represent one nibble of binary data.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to eat something in small... pick atsnack ongraze

2 verb · to bite something gently or... gnaw peck

3 noun · a small bite or a small... small bitetaste

4 noun · computing: a group of four... nybblehalf-byte

More snack

Opposites

gobble devour

Word family

Forms nibblednibbling

Derived forms nibbleablenibblernibblingnibblynibletunnibbled

Related forms bite gnawnybble

Simplified etymology

Nibble dates from late Middle English and is probably Germanic in origin, though its precise source is uncertain.

Etymology

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.

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# nibble

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈnɪbəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈnɪbl̩/
**Frequency rank:** 18757

## Meanings
1. to eat something in small bites, often slowly or intermittently
2. to bite something gently or repeatedly
3. a small bite or a small amount of food
4. computing: a group of four bits, equal to half a byte

## Examples
- She began to nibble a biscuit while reading.
- The rabbit tried to nibble the edge of the cardboard box.
- He took one nibble of the cheese and put it back.
- Each hexadecimal digit can represent one nibble of binary data.

## Synonyms
- pick at
- snack
- graze
- gnaw
- small bite

## Antonyms
- gobble
- devour

## Derived Forms
- nibbleable
- nibbler
- nibbling
- nibbly
- niblet
- unnibbled

## Related Forms
- bite
- gnaw
- nybble

## Etymology
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.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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