carp
verb (used without object)
to find fault or complain querulously or unreasonably; be niggling in criticizing; cavil.
carp
1 American
[kahrp]
/ kɑrp /
verb (used without object)
-
carps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
carped,
past participle, past
-
carping
present participle
noun
carp
2
American
[kahrp]
/ kɑrp /
noun
-
carp,
plural
-
carps
plural
-
a large freshwater cyprinid fish, Cyprinus carpio, native to Asia but widely introduced in tropical and temperate waters: an important food fish in many countries.
-
any of various other fishes of the family Cyprinidae.
-carp
3
American
carp.
4
American
abbreviation
carp
1
British
/ kɑːp /
noun
-
a freshwater teleost food fish, Cyprinus carpio, having a body covered with cycloid scales, a naked head, one long dorsal fin, and two barbels on each side of the mouth: family Cyprinidae
-
any other fish of the family Cyprinidae; a cyprinid
-carp
2
British
combining form
carp
3
British
/ kɑːp /
verb
Usage
What does -carp mean? The combining form -carp is used like a suffix to refer to fruit or a fruiting body. A fruiting body is an organ that produces spores, which develops into a part of a fruit. It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology and botany. The combining form -carp ultimately comes from the Greek karpós, meaning “fruit.” The combining form -carpic is used to form adjectives of words ending in -carp. Equivalent to -carpic is -carpous, meaning “fruited.”Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -carpic and -carpous articles.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
carpsimple
-
carpssimple
-
have carpedperfect
-
has carpedperfect
-
am carpingprogressive
-
are carpingprogressive
-
is carpingprogressive
-
have been carpingperfect progressive
-
has been carpingperfect progressive
Past
-
carpedsimple
-
had carpedperfect
-
was carpingprogressive
-
were carpingprogressive
-
had been carpingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of carp1
1200–50; Middle English carpen to speak, prate < Old Norse karpa to brag, wrangle
Origin of carp2
1350–1400; Middle English carpe < Middle French < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German karpe; cognate with Old High German karpfo
Origin of -carp3
< New Latin -carpium < Greek -karpion, derivative of karpós fruit
Explanation
A carp is a type of fish found in fresh water. To carp is to complain and gripe repeatedly, especially about little things. Don’t carp about the rain if you live in the rain forest. A carp is a freshwater fish belonging to the Cyprinidae family, which is native to Europe and Asia. To carp, on the other hand, is universal. To carp is to complain and whine in a particularly annoying way. Someone who always complains about the same things over and over loves to carp. Carping is a little like nagging: no one wants to listen to it. People who carp find fault with almost everything.
Vocabulary lists containing carp
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
A Vocabulary Bestiary: Animals That Behave as Verbs
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Koi carp reflect his love of Japan and the Japanese pond at his London home, while winged female figures echo his Virgo star sign, a motif he used on the Queen crest he designed himself.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Roughly a dozen people at the if-you-know-you-know event grooved and shuffled to EDM music while kayak enthusiasts paddled by and locals fished for carp.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
The agency has been working with staff at Milton Country Park, near Cambridge, to develop one of its ponds into a haven for crucian carp, a protected native species in the UK.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
The firefighter has a side business taking tourists bow-fishing for the carp along the Illinois River, where he rigs nets around the boat for protection.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
I was excited about seeing the magical golden carp.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
“So, let the critics carp. We will survive stronger and better positioned to profit globally. We are bullish on this merger.”
From Washington Post ● May 13, 2016
“No,” I answered, “I do not fish for carp. It is bad luck.”
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
“You know, this land belonged to the fish before it belonged to us. I have no doubt about the prophecy of the golden carp. He will come to rule again!”
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
“The fish! Koi. Japanese carp. They look like giant goldfish.”
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
Prof. Professor. c., cent. century. mech. mechanics. pron. pronoun; carp. carpentry. med. medicine. pronounced; cf. compare. metaph. metaphysics. pronunciation. chem. chemistry. mil. military. prop. properly. cog. cognate.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
To her critics, Breed closed with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt prizing the person who strives in spite of setbacks rather than the naysayer who carps from the sidelines.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
He carps constantly about what he sees as unfair coverage by the news media.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 22, 2018
“As big events go, it felt pretty small,” carps Andrew Rosenthal, former editorial page editor of the New York Times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2016
The officially unofficial album/mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late gave us a Drake whose mind was racing faster than ever, confidently converting his carps into catchphrases with singular dexterity.
From Slate ● May 2, 2016
Catfish must be the smartest fish there is, it’s like them and carps were the only fish that added rocks and horseflies together and came up with something bad.
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
Senior executives carped about Chapek to Disney board members.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2026
“You’re no fun anymore,” carped a college buddy I’d once partied with.
From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2023
They said she was a Brooklyn hipster with artificially inflated lips and carped her father was a millionaire who - allegedly - bankrolled her career.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2023
It was a growth policy on steroids, carped one of the few doubters quoted in any of the coverage, the neighborhood activist John Fox.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 15, 2018
Indeed, after an enormous strain of the constructive intellect, a man may be in no humour to have his work carped at, even to improve it.
From Practical Essays by Alexander Bain
After years of carping about it, I am pleased to find VW’s latest infotainment system now mentally competent and even fun to use.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
In Werde’s view, Swift’s place atop the pop hierarchy makes such carping inevitable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025
Believe me, I’m completely aware that I sound like a Scrooge, a buzzkill harping and carping about innocuous movies that are meant to be little more than background noise while people scroll on their phones.
From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2024
After enough of his students’ carping, however, Hayes decided to put the snakes to the test.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 3, 2024
When I persisted in my carping to the economists, they generally backed down a bit, conceding that while wages at the bottom are going up, they’re not going up very briskly.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
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.
