To carp means to complain constantly about small, unimportant things. When someone carps, they nitpick and find fault with details that don't really matter. A person who carps about a school project might focus on tiny formatting issues instead of whether the ideas are good. Someone who carps about dinner might complain that the carrots are cut wrong rather than appreciating the meal.

You may hear phrases like “stop carping” or “quit carping about it,” meaning stop the petty complaints.

As a noun, a carp is a large freshwater fish.