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
-
And from 2018, Roberts-Smith was dogged with allegations of war crimes.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
19 Apr. 2026 -
Dogs must be at least three months old, and dogs older than 12 months must be spayed or neutered.—
Patrick Connolly,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
After injectable GLP-1s soared in popularity in recent years, the introduction of oral versions is seen as a way to expand the market to needle-adverse patients.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Johnson could have needled Woods about their windy Sunday stroll at Augusta in ’07, when Johnson trailed Stuart Appleby by two strokes, and Woods by one, heading into the last round in which Johnson’s 69 produced another slice of history.—
Jay Paris,
Oc Register,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
At the end of regret-flow plotlines, husbands tend to beg their wives for forgiveness by dropping to their knees.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Rollins stormed off the set, leaving Brandt and the rest of his co-hosts stunned, with the latter begging the former to return and finish his segment.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The two seem poles apart philosophically — when Cherki assisted Foden with a rabona earlier in the season, Guardiola urged him to learn from Lionel Messi’s ‘simplicity’.—
Sam Lee,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Before the unanimous vote to defer the interim agreement decision, commissioners heard from dozens of residents and representatives from local civic associations who urged them to reconsider.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Realmuto has dealt with nagging back and foot injuries this season.—
Tom Dougherty,
CBS News,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Marsh declined to offer specifics regarding the lower body injuries nagging Stevens and Westbeld, neither of whom participated in scrimmaging during the final half-hour of training camp made available to the media.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
With Minnesota viewing them as soft, the Nuggets hardly seem bothered by the criticism.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Fuqua and Logan can’t be bothered to figure it out.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
At times texts showed Diamantis hounding them for his payment and threatening to remove them from school jobs if he wasn’t paid.—
Dave Altimari,
Hartford Courant,
20 Apr. 2026
-
This disparity continues to hound a league where the majority of the players are Black, but the coaches and front office decision makers are not.—
Mac Engel
March 30,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 Mar. 2026
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 26 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
