bicker

noun

bick·er | \ˈbi-kər

Definition of bicker

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : petulant quarreling : altercation

2 : a sound of or as if of bickering

bicker

verb

bickered; bickering\ˈbi-k(ə-)riŋ

Definition of bicker (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to engage in a petulant or petty quarrel bickering over money

2a : to move with a rapidly repeated noise a bickering stream

b : quiver, flicker

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Examples of bicker in a Sentence

Noun

after a prolonged bicker, they finally managed to find a movie that both of them were interested in seeing

Verb

She is always bickering with her mother. They bickered about how to decorate the room.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Over the course of the show, a bland young couple bickers on and on about nothing particularly interesting. — Matthew J. Palm, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Review: Wanzie's Monorail Inferno - Fringe 2018," 14 May 2018 For some reason, Lincoln takes issue with this and the two bicker and fight while the camera weirdly zooms in on their legs touching. — Anna Moeslein, Glamour, "The Bachelorette Season 14 Episode 6 Recap: Chris Is the Worst," 2 July 2018 The episode is the latest to highlight divisions in the Europe Union that have left the bloc without a comprehensive migration policy as countries on the front line of the Mediterranean route bicker over who should be responsible for migrants. — Megan Specia, New York Times, "Italy and Malta Block Another Rescue Ship Carrying Migrants," 24 June 2018 The two bicker throughout the process, yet ultimately bond over their failure to make it in Hollywood. — New York Times, "What’s on TV Saturday: ‘Blade Runner 2049’ and ‘The Disaster Artist’," 2 June 2018 Jughead After Jughead calls all the Serpents back to the Whyte Wyrm and gets them to stop rioting and pursuing Reggie, Jughead and Sweet Pea (Jordan Connor) bicker over Jughead’s responsibility for the mess with Fangs and the Ghoulies. — refinery29.com, "Riverdale Season 2, Episode 21 Recap: "Judgment Night"," 10 May 2018 Freyre said Castro probably will take a more diminished role, emerging only if the new crop of leaders stray too far from the script or bicker too much among themselves. — Alan Gomez, USA TODAY, "Cuba will soon be without a Castro as leader for first time in nearly 60 years," 6 Apr. 2018 Tarek and Christina El Moussa of Flip or Flop, on the other hand, bicker constantly and seem completely unnatural on camera. — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, "How I learned to stop hating (and fall in love with) home design and renovation shows," 2 May 2018 The family bickers as only a Southern family can, mentioning every slight and insult that has occurred over the past 80 years. — Shirley Macfarland, cleveland.com, "Broadview Heights Spotlights performs Southern family drama: Talk of the Towns," 13 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Put bickering children to work on separate tasks, to give them time to calm down. — Eva Dwight, USA TODAY, "How to reduce attention-seeking behaviors from your kids," 15 May 2018 While European politicians bickered about where the immigrants should go, those rescued by the Open Arms were jubilant — jumping, chanting and hugging their rescuers. — Renata Brito And Frances D'emilio, chicagotribune.com, "Fear turns to joy as rescue boat saves 60 in Mediterranean Sea," 30 June 2018 What started out with some clever opening statements quickly turned into Lincoln and Chris bickering back and forth like children. — Becca Kufrin, PEOPLE.com, "Bachelorette Becca Kufrin on That 'Embarrassing' Group Date — and Falling for One 'Standup Man'," 9 July 2018 Previous elections offered little in the way of surprise: 128 parliamentary seats were divided among the country's always-bickering 18 sects, with each group guaranteed a place based on sectarian quotas. — Nabih Bulos, latimes.com, "Amid warnings about vote buying, Lebanon holds first parliamentary elections in nearly a decade," 4 May 2018 While European politicians bickered about where the migrants should go, those rescued by the Open Arms were jubilant, jumping, chanting, and hugging their rescuers. — Renata Brito, BostonGlobe.com, "Spanish boat saves 60 migrants, but Italy locks its ports," 30 June 2018 Michael Bronner, a marketing executive who lives in Brookline, was bickering with his 13-year-old son, Nicky, about the chemicals in some of the popular candy brands. — Janelle Nanos, BostonGlobe.com, "Can Adam Melonas cook up a food revolution from his secretive Fenway lab?," 27 June 2018 Then a living room set appears, and the hard-working, lightly bickering Gloria and Emilio exhort their child to do his homework. — Christopher Arnott, courant.com, "Hot, Timely 'On Your Feet!' Delivers Estefans' Indomitable Spirit," 20 June 2018 Carrie and her mother were known for their symbiotic, bickering relationship, one that sometimes drove Carrie crazy. — Jocelyn Mcclurg, USA TODAY, "Debbie Reynolds did not die of a broken heart, plus more revelations from her son's book," 4 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bicker.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.