as in to pick at
to subject (someone) to constant scoldings and sharp reminders
kept pecking at their prodigal daughter to get off the couch and to start looking for a job
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peck (at)
Verb
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Stuck with no way out, and the Hexts’ head of security Jon (Lee Jae-yoon) dogging her steps, Cola hid the drive in an empty vodka bottle before she was forced down to the engine room to be held captive.
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Putting those questions up front helps avoid the tenant frustrations that have dogged parts of the industry as operators expand, contract or change hands.
Verb
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Lestat wants Molloy to tell his side of the story, but Lestat also can’t bear to open up, spending more time needling Molloy than actually engaging with his questions.
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But as the November election draws closer and Republicans are trying to defend their majorities, Trump is instead needling Congress with his demands and reversals, driving several Republican senators to disparage his actions publicly for the first time.
Verb
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Packing shoes that look cute but leave your feet begging for mercy by day two.
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Up to this point, Ruthye has begged Supergirl to help her exact revenge on Krem, which the heroine has refused, so the alignment of their goals ends up a convenient happenstance.
Verb
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Rodríguez also said the country’s entire public and private healthcare network had been activated to treat the injured, urging doctors, nurses and other medical personnel to report immediately to their workplaces.
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Weber copped to working with the Wu administration to craft his $8-9 million amendment package, which Wu’s chief financial officer urged the Council to accept without additional amendments to avoid layoffs and loss of revenue.
Verb
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His advice for a session is to chase whatever task is nagging at you, but resist the temptation to sneak in actual work.
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His one rule for guests is to chase whatever task is nagging at them, but to resist sneaking in actual work.
Verb
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While some of the wives wouldn’t bother coming to games every Sunday, Michel said, many of the children saw the Feeney fathers as proper heroes.
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His pace routinely bothered Sweden, including on one impressive solo run in the first half that produced a quality attacking scenario.
Verb
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Speaking about the tumultuous relationship on a 2024 episode of SiriusXM's This Life of Mine with James Corden, Miller reflected on the boiling point between the scandalous affair and the chaos of the paparazzi and tabloids hounding them.
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Goldberg, on the other hand, hounded Freedman with questions, asking about every material used in every step of the process.
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Cite this Entry
“Peck (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peck%20%28at%29. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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