(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
1.
When you ~ food, you use your teeth to break it up in your mouth so that it becomes easier to swallow.
Be certain to eat slowly and ~ your food extremely well...
Daniel leaned back on the sofa, still ~ing on his apple.
...the sound of his mother ~ing and swallowing.
VERB: V n, V at/on n, V
2.
If you ~ gum or tobacco, you keep biting it and moving it around your mouth to taste the flavour of it. You do not swallow it.
One girl was ~ing gum...
VERB: V n
3.
If you ~ your lips or your fingernails, you keep biting them because you are nervous.
He ~ed his lower lip nervously.
VERB: V n
4.
If a person or animal ~s an object, they bite it with their teeth.
They pause and ~ their pencils...
One owner left his pet under the stairs where the animal ~ed through electric cables.
= bite
VERB: V n, V prep
5.
If you say that someone has bitten off more than they can ~, you mean that they are trying to do something which is too difficult for them.
Micky is used to handling dodgy deals but this time fears he may have bitten off more than he can ~.
PHRASE: bite inflects
6.
to ~ the cud: see cud