gnaw away at

gnaw away at
phrasal verb gnaw at or gnaw away at [transitive]
Word forms "gnaw at":
present tense I/you/we/they gnaw at he/she/it gnaws at present participle gnawing at past tense gnawed at past participle gnawed at
gnaw (away) at someone if something gnaws at you, you keep worrying about it or feeling upset about it

English dictionary. 2014.

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  • gnaw away at — ˈgnaw ˌat ˌgnaw a ˈway at [transitive] [present tense I/you/we/they gnaw at he/she/it gnaws at present participle gnawing a …   Useful english dictionary

  • gnaw — [nô] vt. gnawed, gnawed or Rare gnawn, gnawing [ME gnawen < OE gnagen, akin to Ger nagen (OHG gnagan) < IE * ghnēgh < base * ghen , to gnaw away, rub away > GNASH, GNAT] 1. to cut, bite, and wear away bit by bit with the teeth 2. to… …   English World dictionary

  • gnaw — [no: US no:] v [I,T always + adverb/preposition] [: Old English; Origin: gnagan] to keep biting something hard = ↑chew ▪ Dexter gnawed his pen thoughtfully. ▪ A rat had gnawed a hole in the box. gnaw at/on ▪ The puppy was gnawing on a bone. gnaw… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • gnaw — [ nɔ ] verb intransitive or transitive to keep biting something: David gnawed his lip, obviously worried. A rat had gnawed through the cable. gnaw ,at or ,gnaw a way at phrasal verb transitive gnaw (away) at someone if something gnaws at you, you …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • gnaw at — phrasal verb gnaw at or gnaw away at [transitive] Word forms gnaw at : present tense I/you/we/they gnaw at he/she/it gnaws at present participle gnawing at past tense gnawed at past participle gnawed at gnaw (away) at someone if something gnaws… …   English dictionary

  • gnaw — Synonyms and related words: ablate, abrade, abrase, afflict, agonize, ail, annoy, badger, bark, bedevil, beleaguer, bite, bother, burn, canker, chafe, champ, chaw, chew, chew the cud, chew up, chomp, consume, convulse, corrode, crucify, crumble,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • gnaw — v. (d; intr.) to gnaw (away) at * * * [nɔː] (d; intr.) to gnaw (away) at …   Combinatory dictionary

  • gnaw´er — gnaw «n», verb, gnawed, gnawed or gnawn, gnaw|ing. –v.t. 1. to bite at and wear away: »A mouse has gnawed the cover of this box. 2. to make by biting: »A rat can gnaw a hole through wood …   Useful english dictionary

  • 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gnaw — [v1] bite, chew champ, chaw, chomp, consume, corrode, crunch, devour, eat, eat away, erode, gum, masticate, munch, nibble, wear; concepts 169,185 gnaw [v2] be bothered, worried about annoy, bedevil, beleague, distress, eat at*, fret, harass,… …   New thesaurus

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