squabble
Americanverb (used without object)
-
squabbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
squabbled,
past participle, past
-
squabbling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
squabbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
squabbled,
past participle, past
-
squabbling
present participle
noun
-
squabbles
plural
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
squabblesimple
-
squabblessimple
-
have squabbledperfect
-
has squabbledperfect
-
am squabblingprogressive
-
are squabblingprogressive
-
is squabblingprogressive
-
have been squabblingperfect progressive
-
has been squabblingperfect progressive
Past
-
squabbledsimple
-
had squabbledperfect
-
was squabblingprogressive
-
were squabblingprogressive
-
had been squabblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of squabble
1595–1605; probably < Scandinavian; compare Swedish dialect skvabbel a quarrel, gossip, Norwegian dialect skvabba to prattle
Explanation
A squabble is a fight but not necessarily a serious one. When we squabble, we have a little argument, probably about something not too important. Do you notice how squabble sounds kind of funny? That's a clue that a squabble is not the most serious kind of argument or fight. A loud, screaming fight would never be called a squabble. A small, silly discussion about something small or trivial is more of a squabble. Friends and family members squabble all the time.
Vocabulary lists containing squabble
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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100 SAT words Beginning with "S"
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The Sea of Monsters
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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:
We’ve forgotten how to squabble or storm in-person.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
But this squabble between Goliaths undersells that ordinary online business and regular customers are going to find themselves at odds with each other plenty as more people start deploying these little robot gophers.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
Whether you’re a young politician looking to avoid alienating your peers, or a senior representative not looking to upset the apple cart, there’s little incentive to squabble over the way things have always been done.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
The couple’s legal squabble over the lamp and a collection of souvenir refrigerator magnets from traveling with their children cost them about $10,000 in attorneys’ time, Costas estimated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
And as he claimed this his voice grew warm and he forgot to squabble with his children and he was full of plans and activity.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
The voices of the characters come through as though we’re eavesdropping from a discreet distance on their banter and squabbles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
But talks were slowed down due to disagreement over the price, as well as squabbles within the government over how big the stake should be.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
When Curran took the job, his background included more time wearing an earpiece than keeping his ear to the ground in Washington’s budgeting and political squabbles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
Pondering the loss of a spouse tends to put money squabbles in perspective.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026
I should be used to the fact that these squabbles are daily occurrences, but I’m not and never will be as long as I’m the subject of nearly every discussion.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Top Republican and Democratic lawyers squabbled over the details of Civil War “field voting,” when ballots were collected from Union soldiers and transported back home after the election.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
The boxers squabbled like petulant schoolchildren at a news conference in February, with Eubank holding court, taking aim at everyone in his eyeline, including Benn and Hearn.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2025
O'Donnell and Trump have squabbled publicly and repeatedly since her first stint as a co-host on ABC's "The View."
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2025
Executives at Mistral, meanwhile, squabbled online with a researcher from an Elon Musk-backed nonprofit that aims to prevent “existential risk” from AI.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 3, 2023
But because there were so many and the drought had cut down on their normal diet of seeds and berries, the males squabbled furiously over possession of each hackberry tree.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
After a decade of stalled negotiations, public squabbling and false starts, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will finally meet in the ring on 11 December at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
An issue like that can intensify the squabbling when a death occurs in the family.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
At times, the supreme leader has presented himself as almost above politics - looking down on the squabbling between Iran's reformists and conservatives.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026
When the next streetcar rolls in, the upper deck fills with a gaggle of schoolgirls, squabbling over who gets the window seat closest to the sea breeze.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
And hot as I was, I decided that arguing with her would be about as useful as squabbling with the striped wallpaper.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
