verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   To quibble over trivial matters; nitpick. intransitive

   "Don't pettifog or we will soon grow weary."

2. 2
   argue over petty things wordnet
3. 3
   To do a petty business as a lawyer, or carry out law business in a petty or tricky way. intransitive

   "He is a common barreter for his pleasure, that takes no money, but pettifogs gratis."

Synonyms

All synonyms

quibblesquabbleargueargufybandy wordsbicker

Example

More examples

"Don't pettifog or we will soon grow weary."

Etymology

Back-formation from pettifogger.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.