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peck - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'peck' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Peck [ n.]
- The fourth part of a bushel; a dry measure of eight quarts; as, a peck of wheat.
- A great deal; a large or excessive quantity.
- A quick, sharp stroke, as with the beak of a bird or a pointed instrument.
2 . Peck [ v.]
- To strike with the beak; to thrust the beak into; as, a bird pecks a tree.
- Hence: To strike, pick, thrust against, or dig into, with a pointed instrument; especially, to strike, pick, etc., with repeated quick movements.
- To seize and pick up with the beak, or as with the beak; to bite; to eat; -- often with up.
- To make, by striking with the beak or a pointed instrument; as, to peck a hole in a tree.
3 . Peck [ v. i.]
- To make strokes with the beak, or with a pointed instrument.
- To pick up food with the beak; hence, to eat.

Meaning of 'peck' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . peck [ n]
Meaning (1):
- (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
Example in sentence:
  • a batch of letters;
  • a deal of trouble;
  • a lot of money;
  • a slew of journalists;
  • a wad of money;
  • he made a mint on the stock market;
  • it must have cost plenty;
  • see the rest of the winners in our huge passel of photos
2 . peck [ v]
Meaning (2):
- bother persistently with trivial complaints
Example in sentence:
  • She nags her husband all day long
Meaning (3):
- eat like a bird
Example in sentence:
  • The anorexic girl just picks at her food

Nearby Words:

pecan pecary peccability peccable peccadillo peccadillos peccancy peccant peccantly peccaries

See 'peck' also in:

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Related Definitions

  • Pecking order
    Pecking order is the hierarchy of status relationships formed among farmyard hens by their process of pecking each other. The most pecked he has the lowest status

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