bicker vs contend

bicker

verb
  • To skirmish; to exchange blows; to fight. 

  • To quarrel in a tiresome, insulting manner. 

  • To brawl or move tremulously, quiver, shimmer (of a water stream, light, flame, etc.) 

  • To patter. 

noun
  • A skirmish; an encounter. 

  • The process by which selective eating clubs at Princeton University choose new members. 

  • A wrangle; also, a noise, as in angry contention. 

  • A wooden drinking-cup or other dish. 

contend

verb
  • To be in opposition; to contest; to dispute; to vie; to quarrel; to fight. 

  • To be in debate; to engage in discussion; to dispute; to argue. 

  • To believe (something is reasonable) and argue (for it); to advocate. 

  • To struggle or exert oneself to obtain or retain possession of, or to defend. 

  • contend with: To try to cope with a difficulty or problem. 

How often have the words bicker and contend occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )