quibble

1 of 2

verb

quib·​ble ˈkwi-bəl How to pronounce quibble (audio)
quibbled; quibbling ˈkwi-b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce quibble (audio)

intransitive verb

1
: to evade the point of an argument by caviling about words
2
a
: cavil, carp
b
: bicker

transitive verb

: to subject to quibbles
quibbler noun

quibble

2 of 2

noun

1
: an evasion of or shift from the point
2
: a minor objection or criticism

Did you know?

Quibble is most familiar as a verb, but it can also function as a noun meaning "an evasion of or shift from the point" and "a minor objection or criticism." Both forms of quibble settled into English in the mid-17th century, presumably (though not definitively) as a diminutive of a now-obsolete noun quib, meaning “quibble.” Quib in turn may have come from a form of Latin qui, meaning “who,” a distant relation also of our word who.

Examples of quibble in a Sentence

Verb he spent the entire evening quibbling about the historical inaccuracies in the television series on World War II don't quibble over who gets to sit in front Noun Our only quibble about the trip was that it rained a lot.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
And who’s going to quibble with him on his very own social-media platform, never mind that this week of polling shows, like all the other weeks, that Harris is (very) narrowly beating him. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024 The duo quibbled in jest over an incident from earlier practice when Bronny James claimed his stout defense caused his dad to step out of bounds. David Close, CNN, 30 Sep. 2024
Noun
For all my quibbles with the show, Fargo’s fifth season ended on a high note. Erik Kain, Forbes, 18 Sep. 2024 But perhaps this is a minor quibble, given the strength and urgency of the story that goes before. Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for quibble 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quibble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably diminutive of obsolete quib quibble

First Known Use

Verb

1665, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of quibble was in 1650

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Dictionary Entries Near quibble

Cite this Entry

“Quibble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quibble. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

quibble

1 of 2 verb
quib·​ble ˈkwib-əl How to pronounce quibble (audio)
quibbled; quibbling -(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce quibble (audio)
1
: to talk about unimportant things rather than the real point
stop quibbling about words and tell what happened
2
: to find fault or argue over unimportant points
people ignored the main point of the speech and quibbled about its length
quibbler noun

quibble

2 of 2 noun
1
: a statement that deals with a minor matter and not the real point under discussion
2
: a minor objection or criticism

More from Merriam-Webster on quibble

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