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

While Yankees fans can quibble over whether outlandish performance bonuses, opt-out clauses and use of a private suite should have been included in their bid for Soto, a more important question remains: what will the Yankees do with all that leftover cash? —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024

Everyone loved the quarter zip for weight savings, but quibbled with the oddly small hand pockets and wished the hem drawcords were a little more tucked away. —Frederick Reimers, Outside Online, 31 Oct. 2024

Noun

Vocally, no quibbles — plus, Jan’s expressions and movements gave us more feeling than Jake, who’d been trapped behind his guitar. —Charlie Mason, TVLine, 19 Nov. 2024

At one point during his five-season West Wing run, Amos arranged a meeting in Washington with then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, who jokingly shared his one quibble with the actor. —Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 1 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