Synonyms

nit-picking

British

noun

a concern with insignificant details, esp with the intention of finding fault

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

showing such a concern; fussy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

nit-picker noun

Etymology

Origin of nit-picking

C20: from _nit ¹ + _pick ¹

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.

Gaining any new clarity about surging reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, will take time, better data gathering and diagnostic tools and, perhaps most importantly, a hale and hearty dose of nit-picking scientific scrutiny.

From Scientific American • Jun. 9, 2023

I’m on the Kael side of this divide, and this repurposing, linking Kael with a hack biographer, rubbed me the wrong way, but that’s life, and it’s nit-picking, and it’s a whole other freeway.

From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2023

"Maybe there are a couple of little bits you could tighten here or there, but I think it's really nit-picking."

From BBC • Nov. 9, 2022

Spending so much time at home has me nit-picking every little stain and mark on my walls.

From Slate • Nov. 30, 2020

Hubler had the same nit-picking argument with Deutsche Bank, with a difference.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023