Definition
A small, controlled cutting action used in sheet metal work to progressively remove material from the edge of a workpiece by taking many small bites rather than one continuous cut. The action is performed with a tool called a nibbler, which uses a reciprocating punch and die to shear out tiny pieces of metal along a cut line.
Plain English
To cut sheet metal a little bit at a time by taking many small bites along the cut line, instead of slicing through it all at once.
Context Anchor
Seen in avionics, digital instrument, and maintenance discussions about how electronic data is stored or sent.
Derivation
From the everyday sense of 'nibble' meaning to take small bites of food. The metalworking term keeps the same idea: removing material in small repeated bites rather than one big cut.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots usually do not work with nibbles in flight, but the word can appear in avionics manuals, fault information, or maintenance notes about digital equipment.
Intuition Check
Nibble does not mean a small physical bite here. It means a fixed-size group of four 0-or-1 digital values.
Example Sentence 1
The mechanic used a nibbler to cut the curved patch from a sheet of aluminum.
Example Sentence 2
After marking the cut line, she began to nibble along the edge until the old rivet holes were cleared.