Gnaw

(naw), v. t. [imp. & p. p. GNAWED; p. pr. & vb. n. GNAWING.] [A.-S. gnagan, Icel. & Sw. gnaga, Dan. gnave, nage, D. knagen, O. H. Ger. gnagan, nagan, N. H. Ger. nagen.] 1. To bite, as something hard or tough, which is not readily separated or crushed; to bite off little by little, with effort; to wear away by scraping with the teeth; to nibble at. They gnawed their tongues for pain. Rev. xvi. 10. His bones clean picked; his very bones they gnaw. Dryden. 2. To corrode; to fret away; to waste.

(naw), v. i. To use the teeth in biting; to bite with repeated effort, as in eating or removing with the teeth something hard, unwieldy, or unmanageable. I might well, like the spaniel, gnaw upon the chain that ties me. Sidney.