gnaw away

Related to gnaw away: grow into, feel up to, type up, get up to, could do with, wait upon

gnaw (away) at (someone or something)

1. To chew on something, often biting off small pieces. The dog is just gnawing away at his new bone, happy as can be.
2. To bother someone or cause them worry or trepidation. His critical comments are really gnawing at me today—I can't stop thinking about them.
See also: gnaw
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

gnaw away

v.
1. To bite or chew something a bit at a time: The fox gnawed the tough meat away first, and then bit into the bone.
2. To bite or chew on something repeatedly in order to grind it down or to remove small pieces from it a bit at a time: The kids gnawed away at the cobs of fresh corn. That dog will gnaw away at that bone until it gets to the marrow inside.
3. To cause someone or something to have or feel persistent discomfort, anxiety, or guilt: Dark thoughts gnawed away at my mind.
See also: away, gnaw
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • gnaw (away) at (someone or something)
  • gnaw at
  • gnaw on
  • gnaw on (someone or something)
  • chew off
  • bite on
  • bite on (something or someone)
  • bite on someone
  • snap at
  • chew away
References in periodicals archive
That burning sense of injustice will continue to gnaw away at the hearts of all those attending further commemorative services in the decades to come.
If the road's condition is just a ruse by the other side to gnaw away at time until Turkey's EU accession is evaluated, said Michaelides, the government was wrong to make a deal.
Don't try and hide how you feel - it will gnaw away at you.
"If ever there was a cause in baseball's wheelhouse, it is steroids, the drugs that haven't taken any lives from the clubhouse (yet), but continue to gnaw away at its heart and soul."
But what will gnaw away at him for the rest of the season is that the home draws with West Brom and now West Ham should really have been victories, and the loss of those four points could yet return to haunt him.
Five years later, Samuel has enjoyed the good life and sitting in the lap of luxury, but strange visions gnaw away at him.
But it's the `willing' bit that should gnaw away at the consciousness of their prospective backers because Rangers looked bereft of ideas at Berwick in the Scottish Cup a week ago, insipid at Aberdeen on Saturday and, for an hour anyway, clueless when Berwick visited Ibrox for the conclusion of their cup tie on Monday.
Broker commissions are a key consideration, since they can gnaw away at club profits.
Since the act was passed, a number of states have applied for waivers allowing them to gnaw away at exemptions to include more moms with younger children for more hours.
a responsibility to contribute to the national and universal desire to be rid of injustice, poverty, and other ills that gnaw away at the social fabric." At about the time that Reebok's socially minded executives were deciding where to hang their award, its corporate lobbyists were busy opposing legislation that would set conditions on the granting of most-favored-nation trade status upon a premier abuser of human rights, China.
It comes as the major grocers - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons - face a squeeze as discounters Aldi and Lidl gnaw away at their market share.
Traditional retail banks need to adopt bold new strategies as they face challenges around regaining trust, legacy issues, regulation and technology, while challenger banks and other new entrants continue to gnaw away at their market share."
LITTLE more of the sexual Aperversion that was allowed to gnaw away at our society for decades was revealed yesterday.
It will gnaw away at them just as Geoff Hurst's controversial goal in the 1966 World Cup final has gnawed away at the Germans for 44 years.
Accusation and counter-accusation, guilt, recrimination and frustration gnaw away at the men as she drifts away from them - and it is all horribly real.