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RELATED WORDS

pompous, stilted, abstruse, demure, demanding, precise, onerous, stringent, harsh, imperious, strict, painstaking, rigorous, rigid, choosy, squeamish, fastidious, scrupulous, fussy, discriminating

Nearby words

nither, nitid, nitidity, nitinol, niton, nit-picking, nitpicker, nitpicking, nitr-, nitra, nitralloy

Origin of nitpick

First recorded in 1965–70; nit1 + pick1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nit-picking

British Dictionary definitions for nit-picking

nit-picking

/ informal /

noun

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

adjective

showing such a concern; fussy
Derived Formsnit-picker, noun

Word Origin for nit-picking

C20: from nit 1 + pick 1
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

Word Origin and History for nit-picking

nitpick

v.

"seek petty faults," also nit-pick, 1962, back-formation from earlier nitpicker. Related: Nitpicking; nitpicky.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper