gnaw
Example Sentences
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What’s missing, and might well gnaw at a viewer, is whether regenerative farming can feed the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
"They gnaw everything except metal. Because of the mice, we had to eat all food products except canned food quickly, or else the mice would destroy them all."
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
While beetles gnaw away and burrow through the phloem under the trees' bark, the much smaller, flightless adelgid sucks out the trees' fluids and leaves behind a toxic saliva.
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2024
Only this time, instead of letting the anxiety gnaw at her confidence, she accepted its presence, took a deep breath, and put on the kind of show that is hers and hers alone.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 22, 2023
“Something to gnaw on, little buddy,” he said, opening the door.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
Artificial intelligence could be the boogeyman that gnaws at market share.
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026
"Hunger is not something you can ignore or put out of your mind, it gnaws at your insides with increasing intensity," she continued, adding that hunger is particularly disruptive for children.
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025
The creature lifts its head, nearly dainty in scale, and contentedly gnaws a mouthful of ferns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2024
He’s a good physical comedian, especially when he gnaws a breath mint like a bunny.
From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 2023
A familiar guilt gnaws at my edges as I think about Tao, about the things he said to me in the temple’s kitchens.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
At the same time, concerns that gnawed at investors before the beginning of the war haven’t disappeared, either.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
All around, tree stumps bear tell‑tale signs of busy activity, gnawed into points with teeth marks still clearly visible.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026
Despite his obvious good looks and small-town charm, something suspicious gnawed at me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
When she was a vegan-curious teenager, it gnawed at her that giving up animal products could mean sacrificing sports.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2024
She picked at her hair and gnawed on the mole below her lip.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
As he wrote, “the body of the charter has been unfortunately gnawn by rats” — a comment that carries grim symbolism today, as we take up the task the rats left unfinished.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2012
Thy pleasant gardens which were round about thee; ... the ravenous wolf hath gnawn at the roots, and the trees can yield thee no fruit.
From The Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole
Notandum, A rat had gnawn my spur-leathers; notwithstanding, I put on new, and did go forth: but first I threw three beans over the threshold.
From Volpone; Or, the Fox by Ben Jonson
On the east side a strange section of gray lava and ash is gnawn into caves.
From At Last by Charles Kingsley
Now the scorned unlucky lad Rousing from his pillow gnawn Mans his heart and deep and glad Drinks the valiant air of dawn.
From Last Poems by A. E. Housman by A. E. (Alfred Edward) Housman
Then er calmed down, an' the back of en grawed humpetty an' his head failed a bit forrard an' he sat strokin' of the dog.
From Lying Prophets by Eden Phillpotts
He rambled in his speech a while; then went mute again, wi' a new look in his eyes as though he'd grawed so auld as history in a single night.
From Lying Prophets by Eden Phillpotts
The stwons that built George Ridler's oven, And thauy keum from the Bleakeley's Quaar; And George he wur a jolly old mon, And his yead it grawed above his yare.
Danged if I knawed 'en, vurst along, the vace of 'en's that altered: grawed a beard, her hev.
From The Delectable Duchy by Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
"It hurted my arm 'tween the shoulder an' elbow a lil bit at first, but I've grawed used to it now."
From Lying Prophets by Eden Phillpotts
You slice it the wrong way and, instead of a tender, juicy bite, you’re left gnawing on something that tastes like a rubber band.
From Salon ● May 22, 2026
Citrus greening disease is caused by a bacterial infection that is delivered by the gnawing of the Asian citrus psyllid.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
Nothing prepared me for the gnawing unease of pivoting from saving to spending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
Or that night we stumbled onto a giant controlled burn and saw the flames reach up and tickle the moon and recognized the gnawing feeling that fire is something we can only feign to control.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2026
We’d felt so rich, we’d even bought Kutti a juicy bone from the mutton stall, and he was gnawing on it contentedly.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
Vocabulary lists containing gnaw
The Silent Treatment: Words Plagued by Silent Letters
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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Where the Red Fern Grows
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
