as in to complain
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
her husband nitpicks about everything: from how she puts the plates away to how she files the bills
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Recent Examples of nitpick
Yes, but: To nitpick ever so slightly, heat remains an issue at Paris' shadeless outdoor stadiums.
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Ina Fried, Axios, 30 July 2024
Sadly, these are nitpicking queries that arise when the film itself fails to garner much involvement on its own.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 26 July 2024
With its byzantine oil-rig battle, absurd moon-buggy chase, and homoerotic henchmen Mr. Wint (Bruce Glover) and Mr. Kidd (Putter Smith), Diamonds has its tongue a bit too far in its cheek, but Connery diehards were too busy cheering for their hero to nitpick.
—Chris Nashawaty, EW.com, 29 May 2024
But in a week in which the Orioles opened in second place in the AL East and ended it as the circuit’s best team, there’s little reason to nitpick the few negatives.
—Matt Weyrich, Baltimore Sun, 6 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for nitpick 
Ina Fried, Axios, 30 July 2024
Sadly, these are nitpicking queries that arise when the film itself fails to garner much involvement on its own.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 26 July 2024
With its byzantine oil-rig battle, absurd moon-buggy chase, and homoerotic henchmen Mr. Wint (Bruce Glover) and Mr. Kidd (Putter Smith), Diamonds has its tongue a bit too far in its cheek, but Connery diehards were too busy cheering for their hero to nitpick.
—Chris Nashawaty, EW.com, 29 May 2024
But in a week in which the Orioles opened in second place in the AL East and ended it as the circuit’s best team, there’s little reason to nitpick the few negatives.
—Matt Weyrich, Baltimore Sun, 6 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for nitpick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nitpick
Verb
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Auto dealers who sell its products have complained that high prices have left inventories piling up.Melvin Backman, Quartz, 7 Nov. 2024
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The late-night show cut to footage of Trump speaking at his rallies in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania on Friday and Saturday, respectively, and complaining about people like Rep. Adam Schiff.Michaela Zee, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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Naysayers often cavil that California’s economic growth depends almost entirely on Silicon Valley and the capital gains income of its wealthiest residents, but its primacy in high technology encompasses fields outside Northern California, such as biotech.Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2021
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However, the actual interiors of this four-bedroom home are nothing to cavil at.Kelly Corbett, House Beautiful, 7 Oct. 2020
Verb
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While some parents are fine with sleep training methods that involve lengthy separations from their babies, and a fair amount of crying and fussing, for other parents, these methods just don’t feel right.1 That’s where gentle sleep training come into play.Wendy Wisner, Parents, 17 Sep. 2024
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Somebody's done all the worrying and fussing for you!Joe Ray, WIRED, 31 Aug. 2024
Verb
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Warren wrote: Wounded women and children crying and moaning, horribly mangled by the bullets … Two Indian men were killed in the hole … Seven women were killed … and three children, two of them in their mothers’ arms.Tim Madigan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
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The officers try to stand him up, but McAlpin – still moaning – cannot stand.Emily Palmer, People.com, 17 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near nitpick
Cite this Entry
“Nitpick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nitpick. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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