nitpicky
adjective
nitpicky is spelled N-I-T-P-I-C-K-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 20 million words in written English, the 136,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, nitpicky means “Finicky; overly critical; concerned with insignificant details” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in nitpicky?
| Letters | 8: N-I-T-P-I-C-K-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 20 million words; the 136,649th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is nitpicky?
Nitpicky appears about once in every 20 million words in written English, the 136,649th 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 nitpicky?
Nitpicky has 3 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).
Forms of nitpicky
- nitpickier comparative
- nitpickiest superlative
- nit-picky
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nitpicky mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Finicky; overly critical; concerned with insignificant details.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nitpicky in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense overly critical:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | spitzfindig, übergenau, pedantisch, überkorrekt |
| Spanish | quisquilloso, cositero |
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 nitpicky come from?
From nitpick + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).