nitpick

verb

nit·​pick ˈnit-ˌpik 

nitpicked; nitpicking; nitpicks

intransitive verb

: to engage in nit-picking

transitive verb

: to criticize by nit-picking

… warns her lawyers not to nitpick on relatively simple matters.

—Deborah L. Jacobs

nitpick noun

nitpicker noun

nitpicky

ˈnit-ˌpi-kē 

adjective

Synonyms

• carp
• cavil
• fuss
• niggle
• quibble

Examples of nitpick in a Sentence

her husband nitpicks about everything: from how she puts the plates away to how she files the bills

Recent Examples on the Web

People are sick of the Biden administration’s excessive overreach, including the intention to hire 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service agents to nitpick every aspect of their lives. —Carol Miller, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024

Or perhaps division, as outsiders begin to nitpick the juggernaut and single out which players are most important to the pursuit. —Kyle Tucker, The Athletic, 4 Apr. 2024

Margins Issues are Overblown Analysts were nitpicking margins, yet this concern is overblown. —Beth Kindig, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024

This isn’t to nitpick but to suggest there are deeper questions about the way true crime participates in cultural imaginings of empathy that could be explored even within these productions. —Alessa Dominguez, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from nit-picking

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Kids Definition

nitpick

verb

nit·​pick ˈnit-ˌpik 

: to criticize for tiny faults that are usually of little importance

nitpicker noun