quibbled; quibbling
ˈkwi-b(ə-)liŋ 
1
: to evade the point of an argument by caviling about words
: to subject to quibbles
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.
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
Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 18 Feb. 2025
The soldier must choose between steps that work towards a compromise or rile up the quibbling parties.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2025
Justin Worland, TIME, 25 Feb. 2025
For Minnelli true believers such quibbles may not matter.
—Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quibble
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Verb
Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman and Elon Musk seem to have lost their budding friendship of just a few months ago, as the two quibbled over X (formerly Twitter).
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 18 Feb. 2025
The soldier must choose between steps that work towards a compromise or rile up the quibbling parties.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2025
Noun
The report found the company to be exceptional, with quibbles so minor that explaining them here would require a crash course in the dense lexicon of climate reporting.
—Justin Worland, TIME, 25 Feb. 2025
For Minnelli true believers such quibbles may not matter.
—Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quibble
Cite this Entry
“Quibble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quibble. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
quibble
2 of 2 noun1
: a statement that deals with a minor matter and not the real point under discussion
2
: a minor objection or criticism
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