as in to complain
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
her husband nitpicks about everything: from how she puts the plates away to how she files the bills
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Recent Examples of nitpick
The quarterback position, given its importance in football, is very easy to nitpick for NFL scouts.
—
Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Apr. 2025
Rivals can nitpick details in the paperwork and file challenges that sometimes force elections officials to review hundreds of signatures per candidate.
—Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 22 Dec. 2024
People are sick of the Biden administration’s excessive overreach, including the intention to hire 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service agents to nitpick every aspect of their lives.
—Carol Miller, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024
Margins Issues are Overblown Analysts were nitpicking margins, yet this concern is overblown.
—Beth Kindig, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for nitpick
Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Apr. 2025
Rivals can nitpick details in the paperwork and file challenges that sometimes force elections officials to review hundreds of signatures per candidate.
—Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 22 Dec. 2024
People are sick of the Biden administration’s excessive overreach, including the intention to hire 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service agents to nitpick every aspect of their lives.
—Carol Miller, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024
Margins Issues are Overblown Analysts were nitpicking margins, yet this concern is overblown.
—Beth Kindig, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for nitpick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nitpick
Verb
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Many complain about a lack of tort reform, unrestricted attorney advertising or litigation funding, all of which contribute significantly to the scam.—
Robert Tyson,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2025
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The firing after a nearly 30-year run appeared to surprise Starkey, after reports that Daltrey was not happy with the drummer’s performance at a March Royal Albert Hall gig, complaining from stage that Starkey’s loud playing was throwing him off.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
27 May 2025
Verb
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The new administration can quibble with the technical points of the listing, Koch said, but that will do nothing to change the reality: The bird is at risk of extinction and needs to be protected.—
Benji Jones,
Vox,
16 May 2025
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But there’s no need to quibble—we’ll watch Hugh Bonneville in just about anything.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
10 May 2025
Verb
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Naysayers often cavil that California’s economic growth depends almost entirely on Silicon Valley and the capital gains income of its wealthiest residents, but its primacy in high technology encompasses fields outside Northern California, such as biotech.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2021
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However, the actual interiors of this four-bedroom home are nothing to cavil at.—
Kelly Corbett,
House Beautiful,
7 Oct. 2020
Verb
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Throughout the footage, Leah, from Fort Worth, Texas, can be seen fussing Lunch Box and fawning over her sweet foster pup.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 May 2025
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The baby occasionally fussed, and Khalil turned around and smiled at his wife and son.—
Chloe Atkins,
NBC news,
23 May 2025
Verb
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The Rockies have been a zombie baseball club for five years now, moaning and trudging along the National League cellar, wandering the darkness, looking for brains to eat.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
11 May 2025
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But the Francophone descriptor fails to conjure the dust her voice kicks up, the grit and moan that hang in the air after each song.—
Carrie Brownstein,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nitpick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nitpick. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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