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
Dogs sniff each other’s rears, African elephants swing their trunks, and songbirds peck at one another’s feathers.
—
Shayla Love, New Yorker, 4 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
Guthrie, 53, added that the seagull has even pecked at fingers.
—Brian Anthony Hernandez, People.com, 9 Aug. 2025
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Shayla Love, New Yorker, 4 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
Guthrie, 53, added that the seagull has even pecked at fingers.
—Brian Anthony Hernandez, People.com, 9 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Peck at.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peck%20at. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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