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Gulp vs Nibble - What's the difference?

gulp | nibble |

As nouns the difference between gulp and nibble

is that gulp is the usual amount swallowed while nibble is a small, quick bite taken with the front teeth or nibble can be (computing) a unit of memory equal to half a byte, or four bitshttp://foldocorg/nibble.

As verbs the difference between gulp and nibble

is that gulp is to swallow eagerly, or in large draughts; to swallow up; to take down at one swallow while nibble is to eat with small, quick bites.

As an interjection gulp

is indication of an involuntary fear reaction.

gulp

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • The usual amount swallowed.
  • * 1898 , , (Moonfleet) Chapter 4
    • What the liquor was I do not know, but it was not so strong but that I could swallow it in great gulps and found it less burning than my burning throat.
  • The sound of swallowing.
  • A sound of swallowing indicating fear.
  • *
    • Little Stanislovas was also trembling, and all but too frightened to speak. "They — they sent me to tell you — " he said, with a gulp .
  • * 1994 , James Charles Collins, Jerry I. Porras, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
    • Indeed, the envisioned future should produce a bit of "the gulp' factor" […], there should be an almost audible "' gulp ".

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To swallow eagerly, or in large draughts; to swallow up; to take down at one swallow.
  • * Cowper
    • He does not swallow, but he gulps it down.
  • * Fielding
    • The old man glibly gulped down the whole narrative.
  • To react nervously by swallowing.
  • * 1930 , P. G. Wodehouse, A Damsel in Distress , 2004, page 198
    • The man eyed Percy with a chilly eye. "Well," he said, "What's troublin you?" Percy gulped . The man's mere appearance was a sedative. "Er-nothing! […]"
  • * 2003 , Carl Deuker, High Heat , page 140
    • I'd always been nervous-excited; this was nervous-terrified. When I finished puking, I sat down gulping air for a while, trying to pull myself together.
  • * 2006 , Nancy Anne Nicholson, Thin White Female in No Acute Distress: A Memoir , page 187
    • My heart was beating madly and I was gulping nervous energy.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • Indication of an involuntary fear reaction.
  • * 1982 , Gary Smalley, If Only He Knew , page 163
    • "Honey, I know you want to go to their home next week, hut there's one thing that keeps happening when we're together that really drives me away from social gatherings in general. (Oh, what is it … gulp'.) Well, I'm not sure I can really explain it without offending you. ('''Gulp''', ' gulp .) Do you really want to talk about it? (Yes.) […]"

    Related terms

    * gulp down

    See also

    * (in the sense of an amount swallowed)

    Anagrams

    * plug

    External links

    * (swallowing) ----

    nibble

    English

    Etymology 1

    Perhaps from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A small, quick bite taken with the front teeth.
  • (in the plural, nibbles) Small snacks such as crisps/potato chips or nuts, often eaten to accompany drinks.
    • Derived terms
    * nibbly

    Verb

    (nibbl)
  • To eat with small, quick bites.
    • The rabbit nibbled the lettuce.
  • * 2 November 2014 , Alex James in (The Guardian), The day I came face-to-face with a tiger
  • *:Giant parrots nibbled seed from the children's fingertips and my sister peeled a couple of satsumas for the lemurs.
  • * 1911 , (Rudyard Kipling), Big Steamers
  • *:"For the bread that you eat and the biscuits you nibble ,
  • *:The sweets that you suck and the joints that you carve,
  • *:They are brought to you daily by all us Big Steamers--
  • *:And if anyone hinders our coming you'll starve!"
  • To bite lightly.
    • He nibbled at my neck and made me shiver.
  • To consume gradually.
  • * 11 May 2011 , Ann Carrns in The (New York Times), Prepaid Cards Subject Jobless to Host of Fees
  • *:A report out this week from the National Consumer Law Center lays out a host of ways in which banks nibble away at jobless benefits with fees the center called “junk.”

    • Etymology 2

    From nibble', punning on the homophony of '''byte''' and ' bite

    Alternative forms

    * nybble

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (computing) A unit of memory equal to half a byte, or four bits.http://foldoc.org/nibble
  • * 1993 , Richard E. Haskell, Introduction to computer engineering (page 287)
    • That is, the lower nibble (the 4 bits 1010 = A) has been masked to zero.

    References