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morsel

morsels

A morsel is a small amount of something, a tid-bit, a sliver, usually of something of high-quality and much desired — like a morsel of dark chocolate or a morsel of secret information.

Originally it referred specifically to food — a nineteenth century lady might partake of a "dainty morsel" to eat, for example. More often than not morsel now refers to non-food items: a morsel of good taste; a morsel of common sense, and, of course, most popular of all, a morsel of gossip. That's why, like all good food, all good gossip is juicy.

Definitions of morsel
  1. noun
    a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
    synonyms: bit, bite
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    types:
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    chaw, chew, cud, plug, quid, wad
    a wad of something chewable as tobacco
    crumb
    small piece of e.g. bread or cake
    sop, sops
    piece of solid food for dipping in a liquid
    breadcrumb
    crumb of bread; used especially for coating or thickening
    cracker crumbs
    crumbs of crackers used especially for coating or thickening
    type of:
    mouthful, taste
    a small amount eaten or drunk
  2. noun
    a small quantity of anything
    “a morsel of paper was all he needed”
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    type of:
    small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity
    an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘morsel'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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