peck
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peck¹
- /pɛk/
Rhymes with -ɛk
Where it comes from
From Middle English pecken, pekken, variant of Middle English piken, picken, pikken (“to pick, use a pointed implement”). More at pick.
verb pecks · pecking · pecked
- To strike or pierce with the beak or bill (of a bird). The birds pecked at their food.
- To form by striking with the beak or a pointed instrument. to peck a hole in a tree
- To strike, pick, thrust against, or dig into, with a pointed instrument, especially with repeated quick movements.
- To seize and pick up with the beak, or as if with the beak; to bite; to eat; often with up. This fellow pecks up wit as pigeons peas.
- To do something in small, intermittent pieces. He has been pecking away at that project for some time now.
- To type by searching for each key individually.
- To type in general.
- To kiss briefly. At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.
noun pecks
- An act of striking with a beak.
- A small kiss.
peck²
- /pɛk/
Rhymes with -ɛk
Where it comes from
Probably from Anglo-Norman pek, pekke, of uncertain origin.
noun pecks
- One quarter of a bushel; a dry measure of eight quarts; equal to approximately 9092 cubic centimeters in the imperial system or 8810 cubic centimeters in the U.S. system. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
- Similar units in other systems of measure, such as the Roman modius or Chinese dou.
- A great deal; a large or excessive quantity. She figured most children probably ate a peck of dirt before they turned ten.
peck³
- /pɛk/
Rhymes with -ɛk
Where it comes from
Variant of pick (“to throw”).
verb pecks · pecking · pecked
-
To throw.
Similar: fling, hurl, bung, cast, chuck, chunk, cook, dash, dump, feck, jerk, heave
- To lurch forward; especially, of a horse, to stumble after hitting the ground with the toe instead of the flat of the foot. Anyhow, one of them fell, another one pecked badly, and Jerry disengaged himself from the group to scuttle up the short strip of meadow to win by a length.
peck⁴
- /pɛk/
Rhymes with -ɛk
noun
- Discoloration caused by fungus growth or insects. an occurrence of peck in rice
peck⁵
- /pɛk/
Rhymes with -ɛk
noun
- Food. Gemmen, have you ordered the peck and booze for the evening?
peck⁶
- /pɛk/
Rhymes with -ɛk
noun
- Misspelling of pec
Peck⁷
Where it comes from
* As an English surname, variant of Speake with loss of the initial letter.
* Also as an English (and sometimes Irish) surname, variant of Peak, Petch, Peach.
* As a south German surname, variant of Beck. Compare Pek, also found in Poland.
* As a Dutch and north German surname, from pek (“pitch, tar, resin”).
* As a Hungarian, Czech, Polish, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene surname, Americanized and Germanized from Pek, Pék meaning "baker," itself ultimately from the German verb backen.
proper noun
- A surname.
- A city in Idaho.
- An unincorporated community in Sedgwick County and Sumner County, Kansas.
- A village in Michigan.
- A town in Wisconsin.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: peck at, beak, flock, batch, pot, hatful, stack, nag, pick, wad, smack, spate, hen-peck, pick at, slew, heap
Translations
Every language
verb to strike or pierce with the beak or similar
| Español | picotear |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 쪼다 jjoda |
| 日本語 | ついばむ tsuibamu |
| 中文 | 啄 zhuó |
| हिन्दी | चोंच मारना cõc mārnā |
| Português | bicar |
| Français | becqueter |
| Deutsch | picken |
| Italiano | beccare |
| Ελληνικά | τσιμπολογώ tsimpologó, τσιμπώ tsimpó |
| Română | ciuguli |
| Русский | клева́ть klevátʹ, клю́нуть kljúnutʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | mổ |
| العربية | نَقَّرَ naqqara, نَقَرَ naqara |
verb to kiss
| Español | bicar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 뽀뽀하다 ppoppohada |
| Français | bécoter |
| Deutsch | einen flüchtigen Kuss geben, flüchtig küssen |
| Русский | чмо́кать čmókatʹ, чмо́кнуть čmóknutʹ |
noun act of striking with a beak
| Español | picada |
|---|---|
| Português | bicada |
| Deutsch | Schnabelhieb |
noun short kiss
| Español | pico |
|---|---|
| Português | beijoca, bitoca, beijinho |
| Français | bécot, bisou |
| Deutsch | Küsschen, Bussi, flüchtiger Kuss |
| Italiano | bacetto, bacino |
| Русский | чмок čmok, чмо́канье čmókanʹje |
noun one quarter of a bushel, eight quarts
| 中文 | 斗 |
|---|---|
| Français | picotin |
| Deutsch | Viertelscheffel |
| Ελληνικά | μόδι módi |
| Русский | пек pɛk |
Talk about this word "peck." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/peck. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. peck. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/peck "peck." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/peck.Cite this
@misc{peck_2026,
title = {peck},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/peck},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
