niggle

American  

[nig-uhl] / ˈnɪg əl /

verb (used without object)

niggles, present (3rd person singular) niggled, past participle, past niggling present participle

1. to criticize, especially constantly or repeatedly, in a peevish or petty way; carp.

   to niggle about the fine points of interpretation; preferring to niggle rather than take steps to correct a situation.

2. to spend too much time and effort on inconsequential details.

   It's difficult to be meticulous and not niggle.

3. to work ineffectively; trifle.

   to niggle with an uninteresting task.

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niggle British  

/ ˈnɪɡəl /

verb

1. (intr) to find fault continually

2. (intr) to be preoccupied with details; fuss

3. (tr) to irritate; worry

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noun

1. a slight or trivial objection or complaint

2. a slight feeling as of misgiving, uncertainty, etc

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• niggler
  noun
• niggly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• niggling
  present
• niggled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• niggle
  simple
• niggles
  simple
• have niggled
  perfect
• has niggled
  perfect
• am niggling
  progressive
• are niggling
  progressive
• is niggling
  progressive
• have been niggling
  perfect progressive
• has been niggling
  perfect progressive

Past

• niggled
  simple
• had niggled
  perfect
• was niggling
  progressive
• were niggling
  progressive
• had been niggling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will niggle
  simple
• will have niggled
  perfect
• will be niggling
  progressive
• will have been niggling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of niggle

1610–20; < Scandinavian; compare Norwegian nigla to be penurious (ultimately < Old Norse hnøggr stingy, cognate with Old English hnēaw ); cf. niggard

Explanation

To niggle means to argue over petty things, like battling over who gets the front seat or bickering about who's turn it is to take out the garbage. To niggle is to squabble over something silly or even to persistently nag or worry someone to death. Etymologists believe the verb niggle could be from Scandinavian roots, but there's no point quibbling over its unclear origin. All you need to know is that niggling is largely annoying to all involved.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

niggle niggles niggled niggling

If a player feels a niggle, he is told to rest.

From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025

Rogers has impressed under Tuchel, starting five and featuring in all eight of the games the German has managed - though a hamstring niggle could give Bellingham the opportunity to start against Serbia.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025

Mbappe had received treatment for a "small niggle" in his right ankle picked up playing for Real Madrid last weekend.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2025

Kartal, who has been managing a knee niggle in recent months, suffered physically in a 6-3 1-6 6-1 defeat against Brazilian 18th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2025

Okay, it did niggle, but it was something I could forget easily enough.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Jenkins said he "expected a few niggles" following the operation, but his fitness started to deteriorate rapidly and he "knew nothing had changed".

From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2026

Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue are the spare quicks in the squad after Stokes struggled with various niggles.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2025

Bowler Mark Wood and all-rounder Liam Livingstone will miss the match because of knee niggles but fast bowler Jofra Archer will make his first England appearance since March, weather-permitting.

From BBC ● May 21, 2024

There was precious little time to overcome any niggles before the final.

From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2024

"Today we could not use Kevin because he had niggles in his hamstring and I didn't want to take risk," he said.

From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2024

She said concerns around the situation have "niggled" her since.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026

He will be targeted which can lead, as it did in Fortaleza in the quarter-final last year, to him being injured, or it can lead, as it did here, to him being niggled into eruption.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 18, 2015

Up until the last 10 minutes or so,Wales had NZ seriously niggled and were either level or leading.

From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2014

Even then Hale’s attitude – that she was claiming to be just as messed up as the teenager she had attacked – niggled at me.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 22, 2014

It was only at the very last, as their fingers brushed across the gap, that something niggled at him .

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

In a maelstrom, one might think such niggling questions of jurisdiction and their attendant turf wars would be set aside.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

On a separate farewell podcast for paid subscribers, Maron and his longtime producer Brendan McDonald explained that the relentless workload was tiring and articulated a niggling feeling that the show belonged to a different era.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

The prospect of cuts has helped push world markets ever higher this year, offsetting niggling worries about stretched valuations in the tech sector.

From Barron's ● Dec. 29, 2025

Huw Jones is going through an individual routine with one of the Lions conditioners as the Scotland centre recovers from a niggling Achilles problem.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2025

They were younger, coarser men who enforced every niggling regulation, whose job was to harass and demoralize us.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela