蠶食
cán​shí

to nibble away at

  • created sense approved 蚕食/蠶食 · cán​shí · to nibble away at — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    蚕食 / 蠶食

    cán​shí

    to nibble away at

    to eat slowly like a silkworm; to gradually encroach upon or seize territory or property piece by piece

    蚕 (literal) → 蚕/蠶 · cán · [silkworm-like] 食 (literal) → 食 · shí · to eat

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense

  • created sense approved 蚕食/蠶食 · cán​shí · to exploit — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    蚕食 / 蠶食

    cán​shí

    to exploit

    to prey upon or fleece the common people through heavy taxation, high interest, or corruption

    蚕 (literal) → 蚕/蠶 · cán · [silkworm-like] 食 (literal) → 食 · shí · to eat

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense