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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peck (at)
Verb
-
Since 2017, Spacey has been dogged by legal issues, which have derailed his Hollywood career.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
25 June 2025 -
How could the company’s researchers avoid the community opposition that had dogged the Cambodia trial?—
Jon Cohen,
New Yorker,
24 June 2025
Verb
-
On the set, between takes, Anne needled her assistant, Young Sun, who was arranging ricotta gnocchi on a sheet pan.—
Allen Salkin,
HollywoodReporter,
18 June 2025
-
His ex-wife, Amber-Linn, played by Judy Greer, needles him about how he’s gotten stuck in an underachieving limbo.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
5 June 2025
Verb
-
As the stock hits its 5-year high, this begs the question of whether the shares are still worth buying.—
John Choong,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
-
Which begs the question, how many breaches have there been, and have any other third-party contractors aside from TaskUs been compromised?—
Jennifer Jolly,
USA Today,
18 June 2025
Verb
-
On Thursday, more than a half-dozen leaders representing Thai, Japanese and South Asian communities held a news conference in Little Tokyo urging community members to stand together and denounce the federal action as an overreach.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2025
-
Heavy rain prompts traffic advisory on North 94th Street in Kansas City Drivers urged to exercise caution as heavy rain prompts traffic warning between I-70 West and State Avenue on North 94th Street.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
With all the things that could go wrong constantly nagging you, your best bet is to control the controllable aspects of your hunting season.—
Josh Honeycutt,
Outdoor Life,
26 June 2025
-
By James Parker Editor’s Note: Is anything ailing, torturing, or nagging at you?—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
17 June 2025
Verb
-
Also on this episode: With Emmy nomination voting ending on Monday, the Roundtable takes one more look at the major categories, how the number of submissions has changed some of the competition and who didn’t bother to join in.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
20 June 2025
-
Orban said in February that organisers should not even bother organizing Pride in Budapest this year.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
19 June 2025
Verb
-
Bruce spent about 50 minutes on the field before the ceremony, where he was hounded by well-wishers.—
Patrick Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
14 June 2025
-
Clark received the inbounds pass from Sophie Cunningham, but couldn’t get a shot up after being hounded by Cloud.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
24 May 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Peck (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peck%20%28at%29. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share