kibbles

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Small, hard, dried pieces of pet food, usually for dogs and cats, sold in bags.

   Grammar: Kibbles is the plural form; the mass word kibble is usually uncountable: a bowl of kibble.

   Patterns

   • a bowl of kibbles
   • feed someone kibbles

   The puppy crunched through his kibbles in under a minute.

   She pours a scoop of kibbles into the cat's dish every morning.

   Some owners mix soft food with the dry kibbles to make mealtimes more interesting.

2. 2nounpluralspecialist

   Coarsely crushed pieces of grain or other food, used in animal feed or cooking.

   Grammar: Plural; sometimes specialized, as in cocoa kibbles or crushed kibbles of cereal.

   Patterns

   • kibbles of something

   The chocolate maker roasts the beans and breaks them into cocoa kibbles.

   Farmers sometimes buy crushed grain kibbles for their chickens.

Word forms

Common combinations

dry kibbles

Our dog prefers dry kibbles to canned food.

scoop of kibbles

One scoop of kibbles twice a day is enough for him.

kibbles and bits

The commercial advertised kibbles and bits for happy dogs.

bowl of kibbles

A bowl of kibbles waited by the back door.

cocoa kibbles

The bakery tops its cookies with cocoa kibbles.

Synonyms and how they differ

pellets

Pellets are small compressed lumps used for rabbits, fish and birds, while kibbles usually means dog or cat food.

dry food

Dry food is a general description, whereas kibbles refers to the actual crunchy pieces.

biscuits

Biscuits for dogs are larger, shaped treats, while kibbles are small and used as the main meal.

Opposites

Word family

kibble noun

dry pet food in small pieces

kibble verb

to grind coarsely

kibbled adjective

coarsely ground or cracked, as in kibbled wheat

Commonly confused: kibbles or nibbles?

Practice

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