morsel
/'mɔ:səl/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A small piece or amount of solid food; a mouthful: A "morsel" refers to a tiny, bite-sized portion of food.
- A small piece, fragment, or amount of anything: More generally, a "morsel" can describe any very small quantity or piece of a non-food substance.
Usage
- The word "morsel" is used to emphasize the small size of something. It often implies that the amount is barely enough or is a tiny, often delightful, portion.
- It is a countable noun (e.g., , ).
Examples
- Noun (Food):
- She saved a morsel of cake for later.
- The dog waited patiently for a morsel of meat to fall from the table.
- Noun (General):
- He scribbled the note on a morsel of paper.
- There wasn't a morsel of truth in his story.
Advanced Usage
- "Not a morsel": Used for emphasis to mean "none at all."
- After the storm, there was not a morsel of food left in the pantry.
- "Tasty morsel": Often used figuratively to describe a piece of interesting information or gossip.
- The journalist was always looking for a tasty morsel of scandal.
Variants and Related Words
- Morselize (verb, rare): To break or cut into small pieces.
- The chef morselized the vegetables for the stew.
Synonyms
- Bit: A small piece or amount.
- Fragment: A small part broken off.
- Scrap: A small, detached piece.
- Tidbit: A small and particularly interesting item, especially of food or information.
Idioms and Phrases
- "Every last morsel": All of it, leaving nothing.
- The children ate every last morsel of their dinner.
Noun
- a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
- all they had left was a bit of bread
- a small quantity of anything
- a morsel of paper was all he needed