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nit·pick | \ ˈnit-ˌpik 
\
\nitpicked; nitpicking; nitpicks
Definition of nitpick
: to engage in nit-picking
: to criticize by nit-picking … warns her lawyers not to nitpick on relatively simple matters.— Deborah L. Jacobs
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Other Words from nitpick
nitpick noun
nitpicker noun
nitpicky \ ˈnit-ˌpi-kē \ adjective
\ adjective
Examples of nitpick in a Sentence
her husband nitpicks about everything: from how she puts the plates away to how she files the bills
Recent Examples on the Web Yet a crisis always prompts suggestions that opposition is either nitpicking, destabilizing, or outright traitorous.
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Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, "Crises Are No Time for Political Unity," 20 May 2020 Outside of his weight concerns, any other red flags are just nitpicking.
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Ellis L. Williams, cleveland, "Mekhi Becton, Louisville OT: 2020 NFL Draft profile," 9 Mar. 2020 The 31-year-old right-hander, admittedly, was nitpicking.
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Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Padres notes: Alou reportedly won’t interview; healthy Garrett Richards in a place to nitpick," 26 Sep. 2019 Outside of his weight concerns, any other red flags are just nitpicking.
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Ellis L. Williams, cleveland, "Mekhi Becton, Louisville OT: 2020 NFL Draft profile," 9 Mar. 2020 Other than his lagging three-point efficiency and his DeMarcus Cousins-like propensity for turning the ball over by doing too much, Embiid (23.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 3.4 APG) is virtually impossible to nitpick.
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Ben Golliver, SI.com, "The Crossover's 2018 NBA All-Star Game Starters," 17 Jan. 2018 Outside of his weight concerns, any other red flags are just nitpicking.
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cleveland, "Offensive line and the Browns at NFL combine 2020: What you need to know," 26 Feb. 2020 Nuclear experts nitpicked it factually, which missed the point.
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Washington Post, "Best TV shows of 2019: ‘Watchmen,’ ‘When They See Us,’ ‘Unbelievable,’ ‘Succession’ and more," 9 Dec. 2019 Indeed, in the heat of a close game, no criticism is too harsh to levy, no detail too small to nitpick for the good of the line.
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Alex Prewitt, SI.com, "Islanders’ Fourth Line Remains a Commodity in Its Second Act Together," 3 Oct. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nitpick.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for nitpick
The first known use of nitpick was in 1956
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