bickering
Americanadjective
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arguing petulantly or peevishly; wrangling or quarreling.
To raise their daughter properly, the bickering pair must set aside their differences and work on their parenting skills.
-
flickering.
They deliberately hadn’t fixed the bickering light at the bistro, as it had become an iconic feature of the establishment.
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Literary. rushing or making a rushing sound, as water.
The two flutes accompanied by piano sounded like two chirping birds chasing each other above a bickering stream.
noun
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the act of engaging in petulant or peevish argument.
Why all this useless bickering over who's best or better?
-
the act of flickering.
If you’re bothered by the constant bickering of the malfunction light on your motorbike, do a thorough analysis of the wiring.
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Literary. the act of rushing or of making a rushing sound, as water.
Over the roar of the falls and the ceaseless bickering of the rain, he heard another sound.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bickering
First recorded in 1275–1325; bicker 1 ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; bicker 1 ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. ) for the noun senses
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.
Opening on an already wild scene where the family members are bickering at the hospital deathbed of Linda’s mother, the events of “Big Mistakes” escalate quickly and considerably.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
There was much intra-Senate grousing and griping and bickering in the days preceding Friday morning’s vote.
From Slate • Mar. 28, 2026
SALTBURN-BY-THE-SEA, England—The bickering started before we left London.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026
After some long-winded bickering between the two camps, the fighters - relatively restrained until that point - finally sparked into life.
From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026
“Your arms and faces are perfectly normal arms and faces, and I don’t want to listen to the two of you bickering the whole way home.”
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
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.
