1. to engage in petty or trivial legal quibbling; to practice law in a petty, underhanded way
Usage: formal; often derogatory
2. to argue over trivial matters; to engage in petty disputes
Usage: formal

Examples

• The lawyer pettifogs over minor contract details instead of addressing the main issues.
• Stop pettifogging about punctuation and focus on the content of the proposal.
• He pettifogs in court, raising frivolous objections to delay proceedings.
• The attorney was known to pettifog rather than pursue legitimate legal arguments.
• She pettifogs about every small expense on the budget report.
• The opposing counsel pettifogs to avoid discussing the real evidence.