peck at
phrasal verb
pecked at; pecking at; pecks at
: to take small bites of (food)
Her son pecked at his food and said he wasn't hungry.
Examples of peck at in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The bird might also be pecking at small insects that could be around the window frame.
—
Joan Morris, Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2026
Whether the creature is pecking at the ground or slumped over, unable to hold up the weight of its own body, all its gestures amount to Sisyphean false starts.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
To keep birds out of your fruit trees and prevent them from pecking at your crop, hang spiral reflective strips from the branches.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 30 Jan. 2026
Warwick shrugged and pecked at his laptop.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
What glitters can make anyone want to peck at it, but what’s solid can be a foundation to build upon.
—Magi Helena, Dallas Morning News, 16 Jan. 2026
When things go wrong, that’s when all the rats start to come out and try to peck at you and all that other stuff.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 2 Nov. 2025
People are talking about the storm while the gulls gorge on bread and peck at chicken bones.
—Deborah Levy, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Grow Great Fruit, a website for home fruit growers, says fruit that has been pecked at by birds or is overripe often develops brown rot after hitting the ground.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Aug. 2025
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Joan Morris, Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2026
Whether the creature is pecking at the ground or slumped over, unable to hold up the weight of its own body, all its gestures amount to Sisyphean false starts.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
To keep birds out of your fruit trees and prevent them from pecking at your crop, hang spiral reflective strips from the branches.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 30 Jan. 2026
Warwick shrugged and pecked at his laptop.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
What glitters can make anyone want to peck at it, but what’s solid can be a foundation to build upon.
—Magi Helena, Dallas Morning News, 16 Jan. 2026
When things go wrong, that’s when all the rats start to come out and try to peck at you and all that other stuff.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 2 Nov. 2025
People are talking about the storm while the gulls gorge on bread and peck at chicken bones.
—Deborah Levy, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Grow Great Fruit, a website for home fruit growers, says fruit that has been pecked at by birds or is overripe often develops brown rot after hitting the ground.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Peck at.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peck%20at. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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