How to Use gnaw in a Sentence

gnaw

verb
Definition of gnawnext
Synonyms for gnawnext
  • The bread is thin but dense, its corners lovely to gnaw on.
    — Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 3 May 2018
  • Even if a hole doesn't start out that large, the rodents can gnaw their way to make the opening larger.
    — Beth Kaufman, Good Housekeeping, 23 May 2018
  • But swooning shares have gnawed away at its gains and complicated its ability to cash out.
    — Ryan Dezember, WSJ, 20 May 2018
  • Throughout the night, fans who had waited so long relished much of the game, all the while with a pit of gnawing anxiety.
    — Lomi Kriel, Houston Chronicle, 28 May 2018
  • And yet pregnant women still gnaw on crackers in secret for months rather than tell others why they are nauseated.
    — Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, 11 May 2018
  • Therein, piano and electronics gnaw at the alt-rock arrangement from the periphery like a dog chewing its own fur.
    — Morgan Enos, Billboard, 27 Apr. 2018
  • Microscopic scans ruled out a tumor, gnawing mice or other similar causes.
    — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 25 Apr. 2018
  • There was talk of crudely gnawed-upon limbs and faces missing eyes, noses, livers, shreds of skin barely hanging on to some clavicle kicked away by anxious scavengers.
    — Chicago Tribune, chicagotribune.com, 2 June 2018
  • Bevins acknowledges such gnawing uncertainties, but downplays their relevance in his case.
    — Bob Sylva, sacbee, 25 Apr. 2018
  • My mind gnaws on that concept the entire hike down: The Nahanni has followed its course for more than 200 million years.
    — Jayme Moye, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 July 2024
  • Many of the bones show tooth marks and cracks, signs of being gnawed by smaller scavengers like foxes, wolves, and dogs, and a few have spiral fractures from being cracked open by larger scavengers hoping to get at the marrow inside.
    — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 21 May 2018
  • Members of the loose network often filmed or photographed their hunts, capturing gruesome scenes, including some in Washington that showed hunting dogs gnawing on dead or wounded bears.
    — Author: Evan Bush, Anchorage Daily News, 17 May 2018
  • In addition to ruling out an untimely goring, the researchers also excluded infection, cancer, erosion, and gnawing by animals as the cause thanks to the uniform shape of the hole.
    — Roni Dengler, Science | AAAS, 19 Apr. 2018
  • That will require the lorises to gnaw on the wood to get the gum out of the tubes.
    — Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2023
  • Gonna stick some Hank Williams on and gnaw on some brisket.
    — Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, 12 Feb. 2020
  • The space from the plant is so mice and other rodents do not gnaw on the base of the plant.
    — oregonlive, 12 Dec. 2021
  • This is a life shaped for the bounce and prowl of R & B, not the gnawing stasis of the blues.
    — Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 4 May 2023
  • Some bone lovers believe that the wee bits gnawed off the bone are the best, the sweetest bits of all.
    — Bill St. John, The Denver Post, 10 July 2019
  • He is gone now, and the waves gnaw at the shore and the island slowly sinks into the sea.
    — Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper’s Magazine , 17 Aug. 2022
  • Don't worry—the rope on this bridge is much more durable than the one in the movie and is ready to be chewed and gnawed on.
    — Tainaya Nash, House Beautiful, 25 June 2019
  • This eclipse is about releasing old gnawing thoughts and the hurts of the past.
    — Emily Simone, Allure, 15 July 2019
  • As the days passed with no word from him, anxiety gnawed at me.
    — Brian Barnett, STAT, 2 July 2018
  • The country has little to do but wait and try not to gnaw itself to bits.
    — Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2021
  • An electric line runs from a pole on the street into a hole in the façade that looks like it was gnawed out.
    — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 9 Aug. 2023
  • But the plastic bottles that littered the beach gnawed at them.
    — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 20 Dec. 2019
  • Is your baby more likely to gnaw on a board book than read it?
    — Maggie Panos, Woman's Day, 28 Feb. 2023
  • Even if a hole doesn't start out that large, the rodents gnaw their way to make the opening larger.
    — Beth Kaufman, Good Housekeeping, 26 Jan. 2021
  • So there are these little things that are starting to gnaw at him.
    — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 14 Oct. 2019
  • The wind and the sea carry the sand away, erosion is constantly gnawing on the red cliffs.
    — Max Maeckler, Vogue, 25 June 2018
  • The rabbits dug tunnels underneath the lawn, as well as gnawed on electrical cables and pipes on the grounds.
    — Chantelle Lee, TIME, 27 June 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gnaw.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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