gnash
/ˈnæʃ/verb, noun
gnash is spelled G-N-A-S-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 91,522nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, gnash means “To grind (one's teeth) in pain or in anger” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in gnash?
| Letters | 5: G-N-A-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 91,522nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is gnash?
Gnash appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 91,522nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce gnash?
- /ˈnæʃ/
Gnash has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-gnash.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of gnash
- gnashes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- gnashing participle, present
- gnashed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gnash mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To grind (one's teeth) in pain or in anger.
gnashing your teeth
- 2
To grind between the teeth.
to gnash the air in fury
- 3
To clash together violently.
- 4
To run away.
noun
- 1
A sudden snapping of the teeth.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gnash in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to grind one's teeth in pain or in anger:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | serrer les dents, grincer |
| German | knirschen |
| Portuguese | ranger, rilhar |
| Spanish | crujir de dientes |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does gnash come from?
From Middle English gnasten. Origin unknown; the word is probably either Germanic or ultimately onomatopoeic. Compare Old Norse gnastan, Danish gnaske ("munch", "crunch"), German knirschen, German Low German gnirschen, gnörschen (“gnash”), Swedish gnissla (“squeak; gnash”), all of onomatopoeic origin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).