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:
Michigan boils on and every college football podcast on Earth will have something to bicker about until Lane Kiffin does another goofy thing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 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
Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel has Dr. Frankenstein bicker with his creature about her potential existence before deciding against it in fear that “she might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2026
They are a contented group, placid and good-natured, although, like any family, they bicker from time to time.
From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate
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
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Peter Navarro, the president’s trade counsellor, have bickered acridly, as the former sought to persuade the president on the merits of tariff exemptions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 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
They bickered as I wandered in and out of consciousness.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Her popular podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me is full of gossip, oversharing and comic bickering - music to the ears of the Traitors producers, no doubt.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
The “Beef” quartet — Mulligan and Oscar Isaac playing striving, bickering millennials, Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeney as their younger, equally desperate counterparts — split their submissions between lead and supporting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
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
One way a court can handle rumors of interpersonal bickering is to stop behaving badly in public sessions.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
I was okay with it really, but still, it wasn’t a big thrill hanging out alone in my room for most of the night, listening to my parents’ off-key bickering caroling up the stairs.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
Definitions 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.
