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• peck
  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
  Peck

  noun

  Annie Smith, 1850–1935, U.S. mountain climber.

peck

¹ American  

[pek] / pɛk /

verb (used with object)

• pecks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pecked,
  past participle,  past
• pecking
  present participle

1. to strike or indent with the beak, as a bird does, or with some pointed instrument, especially with quick, repeated movements.

2. to make (a hole, puncture, etc.) by such strokes; pierce.

3. to take (food) bit by bit, with or as with the beak.

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verb (used without object)

• pecks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pecked,
  past participle,  past
• pecking
  present participle

1. to make strokes with the beak or a pointed instrument.

noun

1. a quick stroke, as in pecking.

2. a hole or mark made by or as by pecking.

3. a quick, almost impersonal kiss.

   a peck on the cheek.

4. (in timber) incipient decay from fungi, occurring in isolated spots.

5. Slang. pecks. Also peckings food; grub.

verb phrase

1. peck at

   1. to nibble indifferently or unenthusiastically at (food).

   2. to nag or carp at.

      Stop pecking at me, I'm doing the best I can.

peck ² American  

[pek] / pɛk /

noun

1. a dry measure of 8 quarts; the fourth part of a bushel, equal to 537.6 cubic inches (8.81 liters).

2. a container for measuring this quantity. pk, pk.

3. a considerable quantity.

   a peck of trouble.

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Peck ³ American  

[pek] / pɛk /

noun

1. Annie Smith, 1850–1935, U.S. mountain climber.

2. Gregory, 1916–2003, U.S. actor.

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peck ¹ British  

/ pɛk /

verb

1. to strike with the beak or with a pointed instrument

2. to dig (a hole) by pecking

3. (tr) (of birds) to pick up (corn, worms, etc) by pecking

4. to nibble or pick (at one's food)

5. informal to kiss (a person) quickly and lightly

6. to nag

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noun

1. a quick light blow, esp from a bird's beak

2. a mark made by such a blow

3. informal a quick light kiss

peck ² British  

/ pɛk /

noun

1. a unit of dry measure equal to 8 quarts or one quarter of a bushel

2. a container used for measuring this quantity

3. a large quantity or number

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Peck ³ British  

/ pɛk /

noun

1. Gregory. 1916–2003, US film actor; his films include Keys of the Kingdom (1944), The Gunfighter (1950), The Big Country (1958), To Kill a Mockingbird (1963), The Omen (1976), and Other People's Money (1991)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unpecked
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• pecking
  present
• pecked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• peck
  simple
• pecks
  simple
• have pecked
  perfect
• has pecked
  perfect
• am pecking
  progressive
• are pecking
  progressive
• is pecking
  progressive
• have been pecking
  perfect progressive
• has been pecking
  perfect progressive

Past

• pecked
  simple
• had pecked
  perfect
• was pecking
  progressive
• were pecking
  progressive
• had been pecking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will peck
  simple
• will have pecked
  perfect
• will be pecking
  progressive
• will have been pecking
  perfect progressive

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

See Examples For:

peck Peck pecks pecked pecking

But, in the foreground, magpies and crows are already swarming to peck at the soil.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 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 lanky Yank had driven the spud-loving critter off his land more times than he could count, and the $10 he’d invested in a peck of potato seeds was disappearing with every bite.

From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024

Mr Rubiales has always maintained the kiss was a "consensual peck" but in the wake of the incident he was forced to resign as president of the Spanish football federation.

From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2024

It took a few casual steps and stopped to peck at the ground—a perfect target.

From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli

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

“An image I had of Ernie was Peter Pan,” Peck said, describing him as someone with a knack for making his way into different venues and cultures.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

It would diversify the group’s investment portfolio, and a reliable tenant was committed to leasing the building once it was finished, Peck said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck explain the series of events that led to Citadel swooping in to buy the bulk of assets held by 25-year-old Leopold Aschenbrenner’s investment firm.

From Slate ● Aug. 1, 2026

I turn to Aimee and her eyes follow mine back to Peck.

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

If a chick pecks at a parent’s beak, it is asking for food, which comes in the form of partially digested fish.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 12, 2022

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

"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

But it does need to survive being pecked by a bird or chewed by other small animals.

From NewsForKids.net ● Feb. 23, 2024

After the cicadas emerged in May 2021, fewer than 10% of the clay caterpillar models were pecked each week.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 19, 2023

The birds to my right squawked and pecked on the bars of their cages.

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King

But Ramsdale quickly fell behind Raya in the pecking order in 2023-24 and lost his starting berth after just four league games.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 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

For many, the refusal to acknowledge any kind of pecking order will feel fresh, fun, validating and/or thought-provoking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Haas have fallen down the pecking order as other teams have introduced upgrades and begun to get on top of the new rules.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Hunger was pecking inside my stomach like a bird.

From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat