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Glite Dictionary
🦐 A sea insect 🐭 To nibble
to gribble

to gribble

9.9
To chew something slowly and repeatedly with small bites
  • verb
  • /ˈɡrɪbəl/
translation icon : roer
  • The dog loves to gribble on his favorite chew toy.

Examples

  • Children sometimes gribble their pencils when they are nervous or bored.

  • She watched the mouse gribble on a piece of cheese in the corner.

  • The puppy began to gribble the old slipper until it fell apart.

  • Don't gribble at that piece of wood!

  • The puppy began to gribble the old slipper until it fell apart.

  • He watched the rabbit gribble on a carrot, nibbling away at the edges.

  • When she is anxious, she tends to gribble on the ends of her pens.

Synonyms

to nibble
vsto gribble
56 2.0

To eat small, gentle bites slowly or a little at a time

is more persistent and focused on repeated tiny chewing
to gnaw
vsto gribble
30 3.2

Bite or chew something again and again to make it smaller

chews repeatedly but with smaller, nibbling actions
to munch on
vsto gribble
  • Informal
14 2.9

To eat something while chewing loudly and enjoying it

involves quieter, smaller, more persistent nibbling
to naw
vsto gribble
  • UK
9.9

To bite or chew something many times until it wears away

is the neutral standard word for small, persistent chewing
to manducate
vsto gribble
  • Formal
9.9

To chew food with the teeth

is the everyday, persistent nibbling sense rather than a formal term

How Vigorous

to chomp
31 4.0
to gnaw
30 3.2
chew
45 1.0
to gribble
9.9
to nibble
56 2.0

Surface Forms

gribble infinitive
gribbled past
gribbled past participle
gribbling present participle
gribbles third person singular

Etymology

A helpful way to remember the verb gribble is to think of the similar word nibble; it means to chew or gnaw in small, repeated bites, so to gribble something is to slowly wear it away with tiny bites.