gnash

Etymology

From Middle English gnasten. Origin unknown; the word is probably either Germanic or onomatopoeic. Compare Old Norse gnastan, Danish gnaske ("munch", "crunch"), German knirschen, German Low German gnirschen, gnörschen (“gnash”).

verb

  1. (transitive) To grind (one's teeth) in pain or in anger.
    gnashing your teeth
  2. (transitive) To grind between the teeth.
    to gnash the air in fury
    The dog was gnashing a carpet
  3. (figurative) To clash together violently.
  4. (Tyneside) To run away.

noun

  1. A sudden snapping of the teeth.

Attribution / Disclaimer All definitions come directly from Wiktionary using the Wiktextract library. We do not edit or curate the definitions for any words, if you feel the definition listed is incorrect or offensive please suggest modifications directly to the source (wiktionary/gnash), any changes made to the source will update on this page periodically.