How to Use gnaw at in a Sentence

gnaw at

verb
  • But something gnawed at my heart.
    — Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Years ago, Luke might have gnawed at the problem alone for the length of the drive.
    — Dan Rockmore, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2025
  • And again there was the question that had gnawed at me often during my stay.
    — David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025
  • But one photo, far less gruesome, has been gnawing at me for weeks.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
  • The three plays late in the fourth quarter are the ones that will gnaw at the Eagles the most.
    — Zach Berman, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Other matters were gnawing at him.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
  • The doubts and the worries already gnawing at his focus.
    — Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Back at 7Pie, a question gnawed at Jedidia.
    — Mirin Fader, New York Times, 21 May 2026
  • The idea of her softball team traveling without her gnawed at Grant.
    — Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 15 May 2026
  • Despite his obvious good looks and small-town charm, something suspicious gnawed at me.
    — A.r. Carter, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Doubts soon began to gnaw at Wittgenstein’s certainty.
    — Shai Tubali, Big Think, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Missing out on Bregman last year gnawed at Cubs personnel.
    — Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026
  • For several weeks lately something has been gnawing at the rinds of the lemons on the outer branches of our lemon tree.
    — Joan Morris, Mercury News, 25 May 2026
  • But another, more frivolous concern gnawed at her.
    — Alessandra Schade, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
  • The slip-ups gnawed at Shelton, who sees himself as a player made for the big moments under the brightest of lights.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Guilt is gnawing at him, and soon so too are an infestation of rodents, literally.
    — James Grebey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Competitive mushing gnawed at him.
    — ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
  • The Bulls gnaw at glimpses of magnificence, when the cycle of cutting and screening and passing suggests cohesion.
    — Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Meanwhile, the case gnawed at former Syracuse detective Paul Clapper.
    — Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 30 June 2026
  • Uncertainty gnawed at the minds of an emotional postgame locker room, especially Dean’s.
    — Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
  • The issue that gnawed at him decades later was that staying felt like more of a hereditary imperative than an intentional decision.
    — Danielle Paquette The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 12 Apr. 2026
  • The Fed is scheduled to meet within days and weigh signs of a worsening job market against indications that inflation is again starting to gnaw at the economy.
    — George Avalos, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Furthermore, four of the woman’s long bones (both humeri, the left ulna, and the left femur) showed marks that had previously been identified as tooth marks, suggesting rodents had gnawed at the bones.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 11 June 2026
  • Its roots are gnawed at endlessly by the dragon Níðhöggr, who is said in some interpretations of the poem Völuspá to burst free during Ragnarök, the end of the world, carrying the bodies of men on his wings.
    — Ellen Walker, JSTOR Daily, 3 Sep. 2025
  • But instead of having people gnaw at the feature as some sort of pre-2016 artifact for entertainment, rumors started to swirl about whether Bezos would buy Vogue for his then-fiancée as a wedding present.
    — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 4 Mar. 2026
  • While Callaghan successfully transitioned to the more traditional newscast-style Channel 5, the loss of AGNB’s esoteric style and specific storytelling seemed to gnaw at him.
    — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gnaw at.' 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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