peck
verb (used with object)
to strike or indent with the beak, as a bird does, or with some pointed instrument, especially with quick, repeated movements.
peck
1 American
[pek]
/ pɛk /
verb (used with object)
-
pecks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pecked,
past participle, past
-
pecking
present participle
-
to strike or indent with the beak, as a bird does, or with some pointed instrument, especially with quick, repeated movements.
-
to make (a hole, puncture, etc.) by such strokes; pierce.
-
to take (food) bit by bit, with or as with the beak.
verb (used without object)
-
pecks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pecked,
past participle, past
-
pecking
present participle
noun
verb phrase
peck
2
American
[pek]
/ pɛk /
noun
-
a dry measure of 8 quarts; the fourth part of a bushel, equal to 537.6 cubic inches (8.81 liters).
-
a container for measuring this quantity. pk, pk.
-
a considerable quantity.
a peck of trouble.
Peck
3
American
[pek]
/ pɛk /
noun
-
Annie Smith, 1850–1935, U.S. mountain climber.
-
Gregory, 1916–2003, U.S. actor.
peck
1
British
/ pɛk /
verb
-
to strike with the beak or with a pointed instrument
-
to dig (a hole) by pecking
-
(tr) (of birds) to pick up (corn, worms, etc) by pecking
-
to nibble or pick (at one's food)
-
informal to kiss (a person) quickly and lightly
-
to nag
noun
-
a quick light blow, esp from a bird's beak
-
a mark made by such a blow
-
informal a quick light kiss
peck
2
British
/ pɛk /
noun
-
a unit of dry measure equal to 8 quarts or one quarter of a bushel
-
a container used for measuring this quantity
-
a large quantity or number
Peck
3
British
/ pɛk /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pecksimple
-
peckssimple
-
have peckedperfect
-
has peckedperfect
-
am peckingprogressive
-
are peckingprogressive
-
is peckingprogressive
-
have been peckingperfect progressive
-
has been peckingperfect progressive
Past
-
peckedsimple
-
had peckedperfect
-
was peckingprogressive
-
were peckingprogressive
-
had been peckingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of peck1
1300–50; Middle English pekken, peke, from Middle Dutch pecken, Middle Low German pekken; akin to pick 1
Origin of peck2
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English pek(ke); of uncertain origin
Explanation
To peck is to jab or bite at something the way a bird does with its beak. A peck is also a unit of measurement, like when Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. (“Eight quarts” just didn’t sound right.) Most birds peck at their food, and when a person eats in a bird-like way, they also peck. Another way to peck is to give someone a light kiss, a peck on the cheek. A completely different kind of peck is a unit of measurement. In the US, a peck is one quarter of a bushel, or two gallons of a dry substance. The verb sense of peck comes from 1500s thieves' slang, in which it meant "food."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He’s looking for any malfunctions or damage from birds who like to peck at equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
As a bonus, she even offers up her cheek for a peck, which is as affectionate as things get between them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2026
The girl turned away before he could give her a peck on the head.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 19, 2023
Baby birds, for example, will see the red area on the mother's beak and peck at it.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2023
Three groups of them: the first got one grain per peck, the second one grain every other peck, the third was random.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
Christine Peck, owner of the Sock Monkey Kids Shop in Cape May County, N.J., received a motion alert from the store’s Ring camera one day in August 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss what the S-1 filing revealed about their finances and what this IPO means for Anthropic’s place in the A.I. race.
From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2026
First up, hosts Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers dig into what is causing inflation and why bananas should actually cost more than they do.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026
Batter’s path was set when, at college, a librarian introduced him to a slender, exquisitely fashioned poetry quarterly called Peck & Peck: “about eighty pages of—and I know this sounds ridiculously dramatic—throat-grabbing, life-changing words.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
“You keep putting him before me,” Peck says.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
Back in Beadnell, on the kind of grey blustery day when the rain pecks at your face, the Craster Arms has a steady stream of windbent visitors.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026
While some of the pecks are small, he said, “in the most extreme cases, the largest wounds can cover a big portion of the calves’ back and can be one meter long or even bigger.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
Every time the feisty bird's beak makes contact with the hard surface — at up to 20 pecks per second — the impact vibrates throughout its head and neck.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2022
The two had already exchanged a few friendly words and more customary pecks on the cheeks before the kiss.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 19, 2020
"You fight like a goose. He pecks you and you peck him harder. Pany! Block the blow. Goose fighting will not suffice. If those were real swords, the first peck would take your arm off!"
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Arkansas pecked out a deal with Arkansas-based Tyson Foods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
But surely some American women can relate to feeling pecked or prodded, and pushed aside when they reach middle age.
From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2024
Sometimes, the crows displayed their dislike of four by refusing to utter a sound; instead, they simply pecked at the screen to end the trial.
From Science Magazine ● May 22, 2024
But it does need to survive being pecked by a bird or chewed by other small animals.
From NewsForKids.net ● Feb. 23, 2024
It pecked three times on the white staff Nemmerle leaned on, and the old wizard ceased his muttering, and smiled.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Carragher also highlighted Alexander-Arnold's position in Real's pecking order.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
The “four tigers” are still in the third tier of China’s AI chip vendor pecking order while Huawei Technologies takes the lead in terms of market presence and influence, according to Deutsche Bank analysts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
In the Olympic hospitality pecking order, the premium lounges beat the leisure lounges and the hospitality pavilions, which provide shared havens for followers of multiple sports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
The 29-year-old scored 23 goals in 103 games for Forest but has been behind Chris Wood and Igor Jesus in the pecking order and was left out of last season's Europa League squad.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
At the top of the pecking order, the Irish “social athletic clubs” were in a class by themselves, wielding a level of power that other gangs could only dream of.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
