bickerer

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bick·er

(bĭk′ər)

intr.v. bick·ered, bick·er·ing, bick·ers

1. To engage in a bad-tempered quarrel, often in a petty manner over something trivial; squabble. See Synonyms at argue.

a. To flicker or glitter: "bicker like a flame" (Robert Browning).

b. To move or flow with a rippling or gurgling sound.

An angry quarrel; a squabble.

[Middle English bikeren, to attack.]

bick′er·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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bicker

References in periodicals archive ?

The study tracked the lives of some 10,000 Danes between 2000 and 2011, finding that the constant bickerers were between two and three times more likely to die from any cause compared with others.

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The survey of 2,000 couples found people from Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow are the nation's top bedtime bickerers, followed by couples in Liverpool, London and Cardiff.

Bedtime bickering takes away 10 nights of peaceful sleep a year

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