carping

American

[kahr-ping] / ˈkɑr pɪŋ /

adjective

characterized by fussy or petulant faultfinding; querulous.

carping criticism.

noun

petty faultfinding.

ˈcarping British

/ ˈkɑːpɪŋ /

adjective

tending to make petty complaints; fault-finding

"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

carpingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of carping

1275–1325; Middle English (noun); carp ¹, -ing ², -ing 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.

These interventions can irk the grassroots, and there will be some carping over the Daines move.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

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

Respectfully, the fans carping about coach DeShaun Foster after three games of a predictably difficult season are missing an essential point.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2024

After enough of his students’ carping, however, Hayes decided to put the snakes to the test.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 3, 2024

I was glad to escape Cristiana’s carping and her threats.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

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