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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peck (at)
Verb
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Inflation continued to dog shoppers last month, as consumers were forced to shoulder more of the cost of President Trump's tariffs.—
Scott Horsley,
NPR,
12 Aug. 2025 -
The plant has a long history of pollution concerns In recent years, the Clairton plant has been dogged by concerns about pollution.—
Marc Levy,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Aug. 2025
Verb
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One ayatollah in particular, Ruhollah Khomeini, needled the Shah incessantly.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
4 Aug. 2025
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Booker's comment outraged Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., 65, another prospective and former 2020 White House contender, who needled him for missing a committee hearing on the bipartisan package.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
2 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The subject begs for the insider knowledge that Wolfe amassed as a Disney fan, once $17,000 in credit card debt that funded WDW excursion trips.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Aug. 2025
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After Cody Rhodes Beats John Cena Cody Rhodes begged the referee to call the match off, but Cena waved the ref off.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In a virtual summit with President Trump on Wednesday, European leaders urged him not to make a unilateral Ukraine peace deal during his one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage on Friday.—
Jade Walker,
CNN Money,
14 Aug. 2025
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Morales, who is barred from running due to term limits, has urged supporters to cast blank votes — a move seen by many as an attempt to undermine Senate President Andrónico Rodríguez, who is running independently under the Popular Alliance banner.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Editor’s Note: Is anything ailing, torturing, or nagging at you?—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
12 Aug. 2025
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Hamstring injuries tend to nag on a lot longer than expected, too.—
Zach Pressnell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The article includes a fancy-looking formula central to the algorithm, but the formula is nearly impossible to decipher since the authors didn’t bother to explain half the symbols in it.—
Noah Giansiracusa,
Time,
7 Aug. 2025
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If a body is here, whoever buried it didn’t bother digging deep, because there’s no fear of getting caught.—
Jesse Hyde,
Rolling Stone,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But others defended Wong as a successful leader who was hounded by resentful former officials who were voted out when her slate was elected.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
5 Aug. 2025
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She has also been hounded by allegations of misuse of more than $10 million in public funds as vice president and former Education Secretary.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
25 July 2025
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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 19 Aug. 2025.
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