bicker
/ˈbɪkɚ/verb, noun
bicker is spelled B-I-C-K-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,368th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, bicker means “To quarrel in a tiresome, insulting manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bicker?
| Letters | 6: B-I-C-K-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 49,368th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bicker?
Bicker appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,368th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bicker?
- US /ˈbɪkɚ/
- UK /ˈbɪkə/
Bicker has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bicker.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with bicker?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as bicker from its last stressed vowel (/ɪkəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of bicker
- bickers present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- bickering participle, present
- bickered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bicker mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To quarrel in a tiresome, insulting manner.
They bickered about dinner every evening.
- 2
To brawl or move tremulously, quiver, shimmer (of a water stream, light, flame, etc.)
- 3
To patter.
- 4
To skirmish; to exchange blows; to fight.
noun
- 1
A skirmish; an encounter.
- 2
ScotlandobsoleteA fight with stones between two parties of boys.
- 3
A wrangle; also, a noise, as in angry contention.
- 4
The process by which selective eating clubs at Princeton University choose new members.
- 5
ScotlandA wooden drinking-cup or other dish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bicker in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense quarrel in a tiresome manner:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bicker come from?
From Middle English bikeren (“to attack”), from Middle Dutch bicken (“to stab, thrust, attack”) + -er (frequentative suffix), from Old Dutch *bikken, from Proto-West Germanic *bikkjan, from Proto-Germanic *bikjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to smash, break”). See also Old English becca (“pickax”), Dutch bikken (“to hack”)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).