carped; carping; carps
: to find fault or complain querulously
carper
noun
plural carp or carps
1
: a large variable Eurasian soft-finned freshwater cyprinid fish (Cyprinus carpio) of sluggish waters that is often raised for food and has been widely introduced into U.S. waters
also
: any of various related cyprinid fishes (such as the grass carp)
2
: a fish (such as the European sea bream) resembling a carp
: part of a fruit
mesocarp
: fruit
schizocarp
Did you know?
Though someone might hypothetically carp about the fish known as carp, the similarity between the words is wholly coincidental. Both entered the English language in the 15th century but from different sources. Like many terms for plants and animals adopted at that point in the language’s history, the fish’s name traces back to Late Latin, but the verb is of Scandinavian origin. It shares an ancestor with the Icelandic verb karpa, meaning “to dispute.” We promise there’s nothing fishy about that.
Examples of carp in a Sentence
Verb
He's always carping about his boss.
He's tired of always being carped at by his critics.
Noun (1)
the usual carp about that restaurant is that the service is slow
Recent Examples on the Web
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Read more: How the Low-Stakes Murder Mystery Took Over Pop Culture
Advertisement
Still, The Thursday Murder Club is so good-natured, and so gorgeous to look at, that to carp about it just seems churlish.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 22 Aug. 2025
Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2025
The fish are non-natives such as bass and carp.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for carp
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Should the pattern hold true throughout the long march to the Super Bowl, nobody’s going to be carping about the official headcount.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Read more: How the Low-Stakes Murder Mystery Took Over Pop Culture
Advertisement
Still, The Thursday Murder Club is so good-natured, and so gorgeous to look at, that to carp about it just seems churlish.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 22 Aug. 2025
Noun
The more carp taken the more tickets one receives.
—Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2025
The fish are non-natives such as bass and carp.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for carp
Cite this Entry
“Carp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carp. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share