bicker
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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bickers,
present (3rd person singular)
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bickered,
past participle, past
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bickering
present participle
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to engage in petulant or peevish argument; wrangle.
The two were always bickering.
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Literary. to rush or make a rushing sound, as water.
We first heard and then saw the stream bickering down the valley.
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The sun bickered through the trees.
noun
noun
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any wooden dish or bowl, especially a wooden porridge bowl.
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Obsolete. a wooden drinking cup.
verb
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to argue over petty matters; squabble
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poetic
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(esp of a stream) to run quickly
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to flicker; glitter
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noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bickersimple
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bickerssimple
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have bickeredperfect
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has bickeredperfect
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am bickeringprogressive
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are bickeringprogressive
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is bickeringprogressive
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have been bickeringperfect progressive
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has been bickeringperfect progressive
Past
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bickeredsimple
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had bickeredperfect
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was bickeringprogressive
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were bickeringprogressive
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had been bickeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bicker1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English bikeren; origin unknown
Origin of bicker2
1300–50; Middle English biker beaker
Explanation
When you bicker, you argue in a petty way, like two kids squabbling in the backseat on a long car trip, or politicians taking cheap shots at each other but avoiding discussion of important issues. It's impossible to bicker in a dignified way, as the word always suggests pettiness and an unpleasant experience for anyone within earshot. If, for instance, you've listened for years to your ill-tempered aunt from Boise bicker with your uncle from Dubuque over how the Thanksgiving turkey should be carved, you might want to book a trip to Tierra del Fuego and avoid the holiday altogether.
Vocabulary lists containing bicker
The Outsiders
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Nothing But the Truth
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Early on, after Jeanie has forgotten to pick her up from school and Delia flounces upstairs, a guilty Jeanie begs Delia to come down and talk rather than bicker by text.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Despite the stress of delivering the “Arirang” on time, the men never bicker or snipe at each other.
From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2026
But they can still take steps to reduce tension when older couples bicker about money.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026
"While Americans bicker, our rivals are studying David's every move," billionaire Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff chimed in.
From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025
And yet, no matter how much we bicker, I’ll never deny his talent for cooking.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
We’re sure they have the same bickers and feuds we all have, too, and that’s comforting.
From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2024
The two are practically surrogate siblings; unlike Jade, with whom Riley bickers constantly, Mia is the cool big sister he wishes he had.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
A couple forms, bickers, ends — and may or may not be reborn on different terms.
From New York Times ● Oct. 27, 2022
The Palace of Westminster sits in a state of dangerous decay, with chunks of masonry tumbling off its walls, as Parliament bickers over a renovation that could take decades and cost more than $20 billion.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 27, 2022
Grass cools the earth, but it also bickers with me over water.
From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate
When his daughters bickered in the past, he’d want to “give them advice or de-escalate their conflict.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
That same month, Trump made an unusual visit to the construction site during which the two men, clad in hard hats, bickered over the price tag for the makeover.
From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026
My grandmother and her sister bickered over everything their whole lives, so I think their mother knew better than to leave it to them to decide things.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 21, 2025
They raised their kids in the Bowl and sometimes bickered over politics and annoyances, as any proper family does.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025
George's lawyers bickered with one another, presented no defense, and called no witnesses.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Its cast includes the bickering members of a Sri Lankan hotel cleaner’s family, insecure American freshmen, dead-end third-tier college professors and their highflying Ivy League counterparts and dispirited university functionaries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
“I want to send them off to their room,” he joked about the brothers bickering with each other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
One way a court can handle rumors of interpersonal bickering is to stop behaving badly in public sessions.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
Once such disdain for a settlement becomes possible, the SEC’s ability to set a clear standard for future conduct is greatly compromised, and continuing bickering becomes likely after any settlement.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
The kids jounced around on top of them, bickering and shoving one another, pretending they were just going for a ride in a pile of junk.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
