bicker

1 of 2

noun

bick·​er ˈbi-kər 

1

: petulant quarreling : altercation

2

: a sound of or as if of bickering

bicker

2 of 2

verb

bickered; bickering ˈbi-k(ə-)riŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to engage in a petulant or petty quarrel

bickering over money

2

a

: to move with a rapidly repeated noise

a bickering stream

b

: quiver, flicker

bickerer

ˈbi-kə-rər 

noun

Synonyms

Noun

• altercation
• argle-bargle [chiefly British]
• argument
• argy-bargy [chiefly British]
• battle royal
• brawl
• contretemps
• controversy
• cross fire
• disagreement
• dispute
• donnybrook
• falling-out
• fight
• hassle
• imbroglio
• kickup
• misunderstanding
• quarrel
• rhubarb
• row
• scrap
• set-to
• spat
• squabble
• tiff
• wrangle

Verb

• altercate
• argue
• argufy
• brabble
• brawl
• controvert
• dispute
• fall out
• fight
• hassle
• jar
• quarrel
• quibble
• row
• scrap
• spat
• squabble
• tiff
• wrangle

Examples of bicker in a Sentence

Noun

after a prolonged bicker, they finally managed to find a movie that both of them were interested in seeing

Verb

She is always bickering with her mother.

They bickered about how to decorate the room.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Better to follow the West German example and achieve full NATO membership for independent Ukraine than to watch essential U.S. support dwindle as Congress bickers and Trump’s reelection odds increase. —M. E. Sarotte, Foreign Affairs, 8 July 2024

Meanwhile, Esmeralda bickers with her daughter Jacqueline (Tenley Stitzer), who’s terrified of nuclear war and obsessed with rocker David Lee Roth. —Celia Wren, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024

Verb

For those who have managed to forget, the original Dance Moms on Lifetime focused on the training and careers of children in dance and show business under the show’s host and instructor Abby Lee Miller as well as the relationships between Miller, the dancers, and their often bickering mothers. —Lynette Rice, Deadline, 9 July 2024

Mayor Bianca Motley Broom is embroiled in a lawsuit with the city council, and bickering over whether Broom can weigh in on legislative items has resulted in meetings ending early or dragging on for hours. —Thomas Wheatley, Axios, 14 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English biker

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

bicker

verb

bick·​er

ˈbik-ər

bickered; bickering

ˈbik-(ə-)riŋ

: to quarrel in an irritating way especially over unimportant things

bickerer noun