# gnaw

> English word · Verb · IPA /nɔː/ · frequency rank #49,362

## Definitions
1. To bite something persistently, especially something tough.
2. To produce excessive anxiety or worry.
3. To corrode; to fret away; to waste.

## Etymology
From Middle English gnawen, gnaȝen, from Old English gnagan, from Proto-West Germanic *gnagan, from Proto-Germanic *gnaganą (“to gnaw”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *gʰnēgʰ- (“to gnaw, scratch”).
Cognate with Dutch knagen, German nagen, Danish gnave (“to gnaw”), Norwegian Bokmål gnage, Norwegian Nynorsk gnaga, Swedish gnaga.

## Easily confused with
- **GTA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-gta)
- **GPA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-gpa)
- **Goa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-goa)
- **GNU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-gnu)
- **GSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-gsa)
- **gow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-gow)
- **gnc** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-gnc)
- **goal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-goal)
- **grow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-grow)
- **grew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-grew)
- **grab** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-grab)
- **gray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-gray)
- **goat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-goat)
- **gram** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-gram)
- **grad** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-grad)
- **gran** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-gran)
- **Gras** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-gras)
- **Guam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-guam)
- **Graf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-graf)
- **guan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-guan)

## Common misspellings (6)
`ganw`, `ggnaw`, `gnaww`, `gnnaw`, `gnwa`, `ngaw`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/gnaw