quibble

quibble

 
verb|KWIB-ul
 
What It Means
 
To quibble is to argue or complain about small, unimportant things. Quibble can also mean "to evade the point of an argument by making trivial or frivolous objections."
 
// Why are you quibbling over such a small amount of money?
 
// People ignored the main point of the speech and quibbled about its length.

quibble
1 of 2
verb
quib·;ble ;kwi-b;l
quibbled; quibbling ;kwi-b(;-)li;
Synonyms of quibble
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
;kwi-b(;-)l;r
 noun
quibble

2 of 2
noun
1
: an evasion of or shift from the point
2
: a minor objection or criticism


Did you know?
There's not much to quibble about when it comes to the origins of the verb quibble: it followed the noun quibble, meaning "an evasion of or shift from the point" and "a minor objection or criticism," into the language in the mid-17th century. That word is likely a diminutive of a now-obsolete noun quib, also referring to an evasion of or shift from the point. Quib, in turn, likely comes from a form of Latin qui, meaning "who," that is also a distant relation of our word who.

Synonyms
Verb

complain
nitpick
fuss
cavil
moan
niggle
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
These seemingly arbitrary small items are essentially sweeteners to win over lawmakers who might quibble with the broader thrust of the legislation.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 4 July 2025
Cary and Walter try to write a film script, but mostly quibble over details like a name for their non-existent production.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 22 June 2025
Noun
No quibbles here though with seeing Jonathan Groff as Bobby Darin, one of the great highlights of the Broadway season and a performance America deserves to witness on Sunday night, especially since Groff may win his second Tony in a row.
—Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 7 June 2025
The new camera setup alongside a bigger screen answers two of the most prominent quibbles Samsung users have voiced about its foldable phones.
—Janhoi McGregor, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of quibble was in 1650
See more words from the same year