Word.ws English Dictionary

gnaws

gnaws is the third-person singular simple present indicative of gnaw.

Meaning of gnaw

Verb

gnaw (third-person singular simple present gnaws, present participle gnawing, simple past gnawed or (dialectal) gnew, past participle gnawed or (dialectal) gnew or (archaic) gnawn)

  1. (ambitransitive) To bite something persistently, especially something tough.
    • The dog gnawed the bone until it broke in two.
  2. (intransitive) To produce excessive anxiety or worry.
    • Her comment gnawed at me all day and I couldn't think about anything else.
  3. To corrode; to fret away; to waste.
    • VVots thou vvho's returnd, / The unthrift Bonvile, ragged as a ſcarre-crovv / The VVarres have gnavv'd his garments to the skinne: […]1637, Thomas Heywood, The Royall King, and the Loyall Subject. […], London: […] Nich[olas] and John Okes, for James Becket, […], →OCLC, Act III, signature E4, verso

See all 4 meanings of gnaw

Phrases with gnaws

Words that rhyme with gnaws

7 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about gnaws

What is gnaws the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Gnaws is the third-person singular simple present indicative of gnaw.

Words near gnaws in the dictionary

  1. gnawing someone's vitals
  2. gnawingly
  3. gnawings
  4. gnawn
  5. gnawproof
  6. gnaws
  7. gnaws someone's vitals
  8. gnc
  9. GND
  10. gnede
  11. gneeve

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gnaws (page history and authors); gnaw (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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