peck1
/pɛk
/verb
1 [no object] (Of a bird) strike or bite something with its beak: two geese were pecking at some grain [with object]: vultures pecked out the calf’s eyes...
- I got quite used to tiny black Tussock birds pecking matter-of-factly at my shoes.
- Mrs Wheeler said she thought the noise made by the burglars was the bad weather or birds pecking on the roof.
- At first it was thought Pebbles had been pecked by a bird or had been fighting with another cat.
Synonyms
bite, nip, strike, hit, tap, rap, jab, poke, prick
1.1 [with object] Make (a hole) by striking with the beak: robins are the worst culprits, pecking holes in every cherry...
- Apparently the crow pecks a small hole in the toad to get at the liver.
- A bird with a penchant for 17 th-century Dutch art has paid the ultimate price for flying into a museum gallery and pecking a hole in a masterpiece.
- He's a prissy fellow, and he takes about 10 or 15 seconds just to peck a hole that is large enough to pull one of the kernels through.
1.2 (peck at) informal (Of a person) eat (food) listlessly or daintily: don’t peck at your food, eat a whole mouthful...
- I was determined not to spend the rest of my life as ‘Fatty the gargantuan’ and so I just pecked at my food, ignoring my rebellious stomach, which was screaming for food like an overweight baby.
- These dishes were small and neatly packaged, and before long, I found myself pecking at my food in an appraising, sensitive way, and nibbling in tiny little bites.
- She made a pretence of pecking at her food, then excused herself and retreated to her rooms.
Synonyms
nibble, pick at, pick over, take very small bites from, eat listlessly, toy with, play with, eat like a bird, show no appetite for, eat sparingly of
2 [with object] Kiss (someone) lightly or perfunctorily: she pecked him on the cheek...
- Ashton pulled back from our hot kiss and pecked me once for good measure.
- I smiled back and pecked him lightly on the cheek.
- He pecked her lightly on the lips before heading toward the door.
Synonyms
kiss, plant a kiss, give someone a peck
informal give someone a smacker
3 [with object] Type (something) laboriously: Paul was pecking out letters with two fingers on his typewriter...
- This allowed them to input small amounts of text data quickly without having to peck at a tiny keyboard with their fingers.
- Four middle-aged guys, dressed business-casual, are sitting at a long desk in an off-white room, sifting through files and pecking at laptops.
- Trading is now done rather demurely, by pecking at a keyboard.
4 [with object] archaic Strike with a pick or other tool: part of a wall was pecked down and carted away
noun
1A stroke or bite by a bird with its beak: the bird managed to give its attacker a sharp peck...
- Nestlings use this beak hook in lunging pecks and bites to the backs and heads of their siblings that result in scratches, bruises, and skin lesions.
- Patience finally paid off as one hopped slowly, slowly towards me and I felt the peck of a tiny beak in my hand.
- The mother bird started to peck at me, but I dodged all the pecks and hit her beak with my mace.
2A light or perfunctory kiss: a fatherly peck on the cheek...
- Lola dotes on him hand and foot, trying to rekindle his emotions, but earns only a perfunctory peck on the cheek at best.
- He gave her a light peck on the cheek and then returned to his own room.
- He was changing a light bulb and she gave him a peck on the cheek, and he was in shock.
3 [mass noun] archaic, informal Food: he wants a little more peck
Origin
Late Middle English: of unknown origin; compare with Middle Low German pekken 'peck (with the beak)'.
This is probably a dialect variant pick (see pike). In the 1920s researchers in animal behaviour observed that hens have a social hierarchy in which some within the flock are able to attack or threaten others without retaliation. This is the pecking order, soon recognized in other animal groups and also in human society. It is a translation of the original German term Hackordnung. The origin of keep your pecker up, ‘stay cheerful’, is unrelated to the slang use of pecker for the penis (E20th from the USA). It has been around since the 1850s, and is even used by Charles Dickens in a letter in 1857. It most probably comes from the comparison of a bird's beak to a person's nose, and is thus much the same idea as ‘chin up’.
Rhymes
peck2
/pɛk/noun
1A measure of capacity for dry goods, equal to a quarter of a bushel (2 imperial gallons = 9.092 l, or 8 US quarts = 8.81 l).America is now the last major power to retain feet and gallons and bushels and pecks....
- If you don't know your bushel from your peck take a look.
1.1 archaic A large number or amount of something: a peck of dirt...
- I have a distinct distrust of any man who smells of soap and believe we all have to eat a peck of dirt before we die, but there are limits.
- As my old Mum used to say, ‘You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die’.
- We all have to eat a peck of dirt, the saying goes, but some of us enjoy it more than others.
Origin
Middle English (used especially as a measure of oats for horses): from Anglo-Norman French pek, of unknown origin.
peck3
/pɛk/verb [no object]
(Of a horse) pitch forward or stumble as a result of striking the ground with the front rather than the flat of the hoof: her father’s horse had pecked slightly on landing...
- However, Chilling Place pecked on landing and weakened into third, giving the Grade One race to 3-1 shot Marcel, who kept on to hold It's Just Harry by two lengths.
Origin
Variant of obsolete pick 'fix (something pointed) in the ground'.