dentellear (spanish) - meaning, definition, translation, pronunciation

Part of Speech

Verb

Phonetic Transcription

/denteˈʎaɾ/

Translation Options

• To nibble
• To flake

Meaning

"Dentellear" is a Spanish verb that means to nibble or to flake, usually in reference to small pieces or bits being chewed off or broken off. It is a term mainly used in oral speech and is not very frequent in everyday conversations.

Examples

1. Spanish: Le gusta dentellear las galletas en vez de comerlas enteras. English: He likes to nibble on the cookies instead of eating them whole.

2. Spanish: La pintura comenzó a dentellearse debido a la humedad. English: The paint started to flake due to the humidity.

Idiomatic Expressions

• "Estar hecho un cromo dentado"
• Meaning: To be feeling very hungry or famished.

• Example: Estoy hecho un cromo dentado. ¿Dónde está la comida? Translation: I'm starving. Where's the food?

• "Dentellearse las uñas"

• Meaning: To bite one's nails.
• Example: ¡Deja de dentellearte las uñas, es malo para ellas! Translation: Stop biting your nails, it's bad for them!

Etymology

The word "dentellear" comes from the word "diente" (tooth) and the suffix "-ear," which is often used to form verbs in Spanish.

Synonyms

• Roer (to gnaw)
• Masticar (to chew)

Antonyms

• Comer (to eat)
• Tragar (to swallow)