peck at

Meanings

verbpeck at (third-person singular simple present pecks at, present participle pecking at, simple past and past participle pecked at)

present singular third person pecks at · participle present pecking at · participle past pecked at · past pecked at

transitiveTo nag
"Ghouls and harpies!" Brissenden snapped out with clicking teeth. "Yes, I know the spawn—complacently pecking at him for his Father Damien letter, analyzing him, weighing him—"
1908 September – 1909 September, Jack London, chapter 32, in Martin Eden, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, published September 1909, →OCLC
transitiveTo eat unenthusiastically and in small bites.
Synonyms: pick at

verbTo eat unenthusiastically and in small bites.

Similar

verbeat like a bird

Similar

Broader

Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry

APA

peck at. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peck%20at

MLA

“peck at.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peck%20at. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “peck at,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peck%20at.

Source: peck at on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.