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.
-
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:
These days, pastel and fluorescent birds groom, preen and bicker in enclosures behind the home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 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
The contemporary, Earthly versions of the characters, played by Betty Buckley and Barry Primus at the start of their film, bicker on their way to their daughter’s gender reveal party.
From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2025
To raise voices and bicker would be an insult to Hāloa, our older relative.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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
Believe it or not, Jodie Foster’s relatable dramedy about a family who bickers, sobs and seriously questions why they bother sharing a table is rooted in science fiction.
From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2021
Hence his decision to insinuate himself into “Riccardino” as “Author,” who periodically bickers with his own creation, Montalbano, about where the story is going and how the case should be solved.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 7, 2021
A village butcher bickers with the postmistress in charge of World War II ration stamps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2021
Grass cools the earth, but it also bickers with me over water.
From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate
Overdeck’s team of modelers and Siegel’s team of engineers bickered over how the bonus pool would be divided and which group’s job openings would take priority among Two Sigma’s recruiters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 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
Heavyweight Jeamie 'TKV' Tshikeva said Frazer Clarke is "fighting for his career", while Clarke questioned TKV's previous injury as they bickered at a tense news conference.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025
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
At the tea stall Mr. and Mrs. Das bickered about who should take Tina to the toilet.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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
Ron and Hermione led the way to History of Magic, bickering.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
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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.
