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.
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.
Annie Smith, 1850–1935, U.S. mountain climber.
Gregory, 1916–2003, U.S. actor.
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
a quick light blow, esp from a bird's beak
a mark made by such a blow
informal a quick light kiss
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
1300–50; Middle English pekken, peke, from Middle Dutch pecken, Middle Low German pekken; akin to pick 1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English pek(ke); of uncertain origin
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."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck examine Greenspan’s legacy and the way it’s being emulated by the Fed’s current chair, Kevin Warsh.
From Slate • Jun. 27, 2026
CEO Kristin Peck said at the time that a tough consumer spending environment was forcing pet owners to become more price-sensitive, leading to fewer vet visits and lower demand for premium products.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
There’s one enjoyably oddball visual when Passenger Man disrupts a cozy projector-and-canopy movie night in the forest and suddenly the faces of Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn are on trees everywhere as mayhem ensues.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
But however felicitously Ms. Peck gathers all her dancers into a climactic grouping, her finale is less a theatrical capstone than a busy sum of her ballet’s many parts.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
“They wouldn’t stop mouthing off and Peck threw them under the bus since they were with you.”
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
Definitions 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.
