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.
had been pecking
-
past perfect progressiveof peck.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Through the years on shipboard, Wouk had been pecking away at a novel.
From Time Magazine Archive
Kempson had been pecking away for some time, when Bill Hagger, who was next to him, ceased working.
From Taking Tales Instructive and Entertaining Reading by William Henry Giles Kingston
This man had noticed that for some time two of the male birds had been pecking at each other and, to use his own expression, were "spoiling for a fight."
From Sawdust & Spangles Stories & Secrets of the Circus by W. C. Coup
But in the coop was a big slice of turnip, at which she had been pecking.
From Children of the Wild by Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts
