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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

"You know what it’s like when you’re young, and you meet someone you like and they like you, and you got a peck on the cheek and that’s all you got," she said.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2024

The girl turned away before he could give her a peck on the head.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 19, 2023

The plover birds that peck the scraps from crocodile teeth without getting eaten — that’s symbiosis, right?

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2023

I’ve got to peck it out with one finger.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2023

He’d give Johnny a peck of better ones, ‘just so you’ll stop glaring at me.’

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

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

Meanwhile, Anna and Tom Bowden are a split version of the attorney previously played by Gregory Peck and Nick Nolte, Sam Bowden.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

However, CEO Kristin Peck highlighted “increased price sensitivity” among pet owners, previewing the macro headwinds that Singh would later flag.

From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026

Steven Peck lived with his parents and sister in Ballymoney.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

My breaths are tight, like when I was laying into Peck earlier.

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

She semi-quotes the song and pecks my forehead.

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas

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

Half-a-dozen chickens clucked and pecked around a neat white henhouse.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

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

Jesus has fallen down the pecking order in recent seasons at Arsenal due to injury issues, as well as Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres being the preferred central strikers at the club.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 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

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

Every time I got close to one of the cranky old sisters, she puffed up ten times bigger than she actually was and started squawking and pecking.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls