champ

/tʃæmp/ (bre, ipa) · /tʃæmp/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈchamp ˈchämp ˈchȯmp/ (ame, mw)

champ — verb

  • champpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • champshe / she / it
  • champedpast simple
  • champing-ing form

1. to bite down on food or another object with loud, repeated jaw movements, often

1.動詞及物 / 不及物C2
釋義

to bite down on food or another object with loud, repeated jaw movements, often the way a horse chews on a bit between its teeth.

例句

The brown pony stood in the yard, champing loudly on a mouthful of fresh hay.

champ + on + noun (food being chewed)

Rin watched her uncle champ a thick slice of apple right beside her ear.

transitive: champ + direct object (food)

同義詞
  • chomp

    everyday word for the same loud chewing; far more common in modern English

  • chew

    neutral term with no noise or animal flavour

  • munch

    lighter, often cheerful chewing of dry food like biscuits or carrots

文法句型

champ on/at + noun

champ + noun

用法筆記

Only sense that takes a concrete chewable object (food, hay, a bit). Subject is usually a horse, another large animal, or a person eating very noisily — the verb itself carries the sound of the jaws working.

常見錯誤

❌I champed my sandwich at my desk.
✅I chewed my sandwich at my desk.
💡'champ' sounds loud and animal-like; use it only when the noise or jaw movement is the point.

2. to feel so eager and impatient to begin something that you can hardly keep still

2.動詞不及物C1
釋義

to feel so eager and impatient to begin something that you can hardly keep still — the way a horse jerks its head and chews on the metal bit when it wants to run.

例句

The young reporters were champing at the bit to ask the mayor about the budget cuts.

fixed idiom: be champing at the bit + to-infinitive

After three rainy days indoors, the children were champing at the bit to run around the park.

subject = people held back by circumstances

同義詞
  • raring to go

    very close in meaning; slightly more cheerful and less restless

  • itching

    as in 'itching to start' — also informal, focuses on the inner urge rather than the visible restlessness

  • impatient

    neutral and broader; does not carry the horse imagery

反義詞
  • reluctant

    unwilling to begin; the opposite of eager

  • hesitant

    holding back; not yet ready to move

文法句型

be champing at the bit

be champing at the bit + to-infinitive

用法筆記

Almost never appears outside the fixed phrase 'champing at the bit'. Distinguish from sense 1: here nothing is actually being chewed — the chewing image only carries the meaning of restless eagerness. Some writers spell it 'chomping at the bit', which is now accepted but feels less traditional.

常見錯誤

❌She was champing to start the meeting.
✅She was champing at the bit to start the meeting.
💡without 'at the bit', most readers will not understand the idiom.

champ — noun