verb

bicker

BIH-kuh

verb

To argue repeatedly over small, unimportant things.

"The siblings bickered over who got the last slice of pizza."

"They've been bickering about the thermostat all winter."

noun

A petty, ongoing squabble or argument.

"Their bicker over the remote control lasted the whole movie."

How to Use Bicker

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo argue repeatedly over small, often trivial things, rather than one serious dispute.

Common mistake

Bickering implies pettiness and repetition — a single serious argument is usually called a "fight" or "row," not a bicker.

Common pairings

bicker constantly bicker over something trivial

Word Forms

bickered past tense, bickers plural, bickers plural, bickers singular

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Fill the Gap

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The siblings _____ over who got the last slice of pizza.

Etymology

From Middle English bikeren, "to attack," traced back through Middle Dutch bicken, "to stab or thrust," to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to smash or break" — a much more violent origin than today's meaning of petty squabbling.

Synonyms

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wrangle

Related Words

dispute squabble wrangle

Rhymes for bicker

wicker ticker kicker sicker Picker snicker sticker flicker slicker trafficker

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