gribble

G2R1I1B3B3L1E1
/ˈɡɹɪ.bəl//ˈɡɹɪ.bl̩//ˈɡɹɪbəl/

noun

Any of various wood-boring marine crustaceans of the genus Limnoria, especially Limnoria lignorum, which cause damage to underwater wooden structures.

UncommonScrabble 12

Meanings

gribble1

noungribble (plural gribbles)

plural gribbles

  1. Any of various wood-boring marine crustaceans of the genus Limnoria, especially Limnoria lignorum, which cause damage to underwater wooden structures.

gribble2

adjectivegribble (comparative more gribble, superlative most gribble)

comparative more gribble · superlative most gribble

  1. BermudaTending to grumble; grumpy, irascible.

    You're always gribble first thing in the morning.

    1984, Peter A. Smith, Fred M. Barritt, Bermewjan Vurds, Island Press

gribble3

noungribble (plural gribbles)

plural gribbles

  1. DevonUKin pluralA piece of deep-fried batter left over from frying fish, sometimes sold with chips.

    Went to a Chippy as a Kid. Me "do you have Pigs Feet?" Lass Behind Counter "Yes I do". Me "Well give us a bag of GRIBBLES then Porky!!!"

    2023 August 17, Pssstu2021, “What does everyone call these from the chippy?”, in Reddit, r/CasualUK
    2 more examples

    The study also reveals that Wigan likely calls excess batter bits ‘Scraps’ or ‘Bits’, compared to the south west and east of the UK who are more likely to order ‘Gribbles’ or ‘Scrumps’.

    [2020 September 4, Ben Butler, “REVEALED: UK’s brutal verdict on these Wigan chip-shop favourites”, in Wigan Today

    Margaret also played her part in filling our hungry mouths by working at the local fish and chip shop in the village and by bringing home all the leftovers which we devoured ravenously—gribbles, the odd faggot etc. etc.—delicious.

    2023, Sheila M. Hutchings, Humble Beginnings, →ISBN

    Synonyms: scrap, scratching

Gribble4

proper noun

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA piece of deep-fried batter left over from frying fish, sometimes sold with chips.

Origin

gribble · noun

  1. Proto-Germanic*grub-“to dig”
  2. Englishgribble

Uncertain. Compare grub, from Proto-Germanic *grub- (“to dig”).

Full word history & related roots →

gribble · adjective

Possibly related to grumble.

Full word history & related roots →

gribble · noun

Uncertain.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with gribble

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

gribble. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gribble

MLA

“gribble.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gribble. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gribble,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gribble.

Source: gribble on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.