quibble

1 of 2

verb

quib·​ble ˈkwi-bəl 

quibbled; quibbling ˈkwi-b(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to evade the point of an argument by caviling about words

2

a

: cavil, carp

b

: bicker

transitive verb

: to subject to quibbles

quibbler

ˈkwi-b(ə-)lər 

noun

quibble

2 of 2

noun

1

: an evasion of or shift from the point

2

: a minor objection or criticism

Did you know?

Quibble is most familiar as a verb, but it can also function as a noun meaning "an evasion of or shift from the point" and "a minor objection or criticism." Both forms of quibble settled into English in the mid-17th century, presumably (though not definitively) as a diminutive of a now-obsolete noun quib, meaning “quibble.” Quib in turn may have come from a form of Latin qui, meaning “who,” a distant relation also of our word who.

Synonyms

Verb

• carp
• cavil
• fuss
• niggle
• nitpick

Examples of quibble in a Sentence

Verb

he spent the entire evening quibbling about the historical inaccuracies in the television series on World War II

don't quibble over who gets to sit in front

Noun

Our only quibble about the trip was that it rained a lot.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

There’s wall-to-wall carpet (with hardwood underneath), the living and dining room are on the dark side with only one window for a large space, and the kitchen is a bit cramped, with older, basic appliances, but there’s not much else to quibble with. —Kim Velsey, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2024

And who’s going to quibble with him on his very own social-media platform, never mind that this week of polling shows, like all the other weeks, that Harris is (very) narrowly beating him. —Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024

Noun

Send your wine questions and quibbles to [e-mail] Support journalism that digs deeper into topics that matter most to Arkansans. —Seth Eli Barlow, arkansasonline.com, 6 Nov. 2024

The only thing missing is an Ethernet port, but that’s a minor quibble. —PCMAG, 13 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably diminutive of obsolete quib quibble

First Known Use

Verb

1665, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

quibble

1 of 2 verb

quib·​ble ˈkwib-əl 

quibbled; quibbling -(ə-)liŋ 

1

: to talk about unimportant things rather than the real point

stop quibbling about words and tell what happened

2

: to find fault or argue over unimportant points

people ignored the main point of the speech and quibbled about its length

quibbler

-(ə-)lər 

noun

quibble

2 of 2 noun

1

: a statement that deals with a minor matter and not the real point under discussion

2

: a minor objection or criticism