peck (at)

verb

Definition of peck (at)next
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)
  1. dog
  2. needle
  3. beg
  4. urge
  5. nag
  6. bother
  7. hound
Verb
  • Although corruption has long dogged some of Brazil’s most ambitious foreign policy projects, recent public scandals have dealt a blow to the country’s reputation.
    — MATIAS SPEKTOR, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The investigation is dogged by unanswered questions, such as how many people are believed to have taken part in her abduction and whether she was taken by someone who knew her.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of dog
Verb
  • Like families since time immemorial, the Hollingsworths are prone to needling each other about their love lives or grousing about their parents.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026
  • And the South Korean firm didn’t wait long to needle its biggest rival.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of needle
Verb
  • The legendary decathlete who climbed 99 steps to light the cauldron at the Coliseum in 1984 just begged Wasserman not to repeat the punishing path.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The Sarti Spritz has built a devoted following from Americans visiting Europe over the past few years, posting the bubbly concoction on TikTok and begging the company to bring it stateside.
    — Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of beg
Verb
  • Bryan pushed back at the time, arguing that the song spoke to both sides of the aisle and urging fans not to let social media narratives divide them.
    — Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2026
  • In 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement urging doctors to offer medications for opioid use disorder to adolescent and young adult patients who needed them.
    — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of urge
Verb
  • That question has nagged at Pawlikowski’s output, from his earliest documentaries to the present day.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Those questions nag at Dustin Matteson, whose 16-year-old son, Brody, was the kind of teenager who seemed to live on playing fields in Ladera Ranch.
    — Julia Vargas Jones, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of nag
Verb
  • In Levittown, the cost-cutting builders at first hadn’t even bothered with tanks and had installed cesspools instead—three decades later, the suburb’s sewer system was still under construction.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Professionally, Bernat didn’t bother to answer a Florida Department of Health administrative complaint detailing the charges in the Alzheimer patient’s case.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of bother
Verb
  • Miami doesn’t have Jaelen Phillips and Bradley Chubb, two proven, established pass rushers, to hound the opposition’s quarterback.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Hill expresses, in earnest, the fears of being seen in public spaces, such as a grocery store, hounded by personal questions—an all-too relatable scenario, regardless of one’s background.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of hound
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.

Browse Nearby Words

peck
peck (at)
pecked
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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 5 Oct. 2026.

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