PETTIFOG (pettifogged, pettifogging)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: pettifogged    , pettifogging   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pettifog mean? 

• PETTIFOG (verb)
  The verb PETTIFOG has 1 sense:

1. argue over petty things

  Familiarity information: PETTIFOG used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PETTIFOG (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Argue over petty things

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

bicker; brabble; niggle; pettifog; quibble; squabble

Context example:

Let's not quibble over pennies

Hypernyms (to "pettifog" is one way to...):

argue; contend; debate; fence (have an argument about something)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

pettifogger (a disputant who quibbles; someone who raises annoying petty objections)

pettifoggery (a quarrel about petty points)