Definition: nibble

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Source: WordNet (r) 1.7

nibble
     n 1: a small byte [syn: nybble]
     2: gentle biting
     v 1: bite off very small pieces; "She nibbled on her cracker"
     2: eat intermittently; take small bites of; "He pieced at the
        sandwich all morning"; "She never eats a full meal--she
        just picks at the food" [syn: pick, piece]
     3: eat lightly; "She just nibbles at her food" [syn: munch]
        [ant: gorge]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Nibble \Nib"ble\, v. t.
   To bite upon something gently or cautiously; to eat a little
   of a thing, as by taking small bits cautiously; as, fishes
   nibble at the bait.

         Instead of returning a full answer to my book, he
         manifestly falls a-nibbling at one single passage.
                                                  --Tillotson.
Nibble \Nib"ble\, n.
   A small or cautious bite.
Nibble \Nib"ble\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Nibbled; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Nibbling.] [Cf. Nip.]
   To bite by little at a time; to seize gently with the mouth;
   to eat slowly or in small bits.

         Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep. --Shak.

Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)

nibble

   <data> /nib'l/ (US "nybble", by analogy with "bite" -> "byte")
   Half a byte.  Since a byte is nearly always eight bits, a
   nibble is nearly always four bits (and can therefore be
   represented by one hex digit).

   Other size nibbles have existed, for example the BBC
   Microcomputer disk file system used eleven bit sector numbers
   which were described as one byte (eight bits) and a nibble
   (three bits).

   Compare crumb, tayste, dynner; see also bit, nickle,
   deckle.

   The spelling "nybble" is uncommon in Commonwealth Hackish as
   British orthography suggests the pronunciation /ni:'bl/.

   (1997-12-03)