What does "peck" mean?
An act of striking with a beak.
Peck
/pɛk/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An act of striking with a beak.
- Grammar: peck is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abundance, acres, bags, barrel.
- Useful contrasts: avoid, chew, devour.
- Usage evidence: She gave me a peck on the cheek.
How to use "peck"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "peck" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "peck" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "peck" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "peck" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "peck" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abundance" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "peck", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An act of striking with a beak.
- 2 One quarter of a bushel; a dry measure of eight quarts; equal to approximately 9092 cubic centimeters in the imperial system or 8810 cubic centimeters in the U.S. system.
"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."
- 3 Discoloration caused by fungus growth or insects. uncountable
"an occurrence of peck in rice"
- 4 Food. UK, obsolete, slang, uncountable
"Gemmen, have you ordered the peck and booze for the evening?"
- 5 Misspelling of pec. alt-of, misspelling
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 a light kiss wordnet
- 7 A small kiss.
- 8 Similar units in other systems of measure, such as the Roman modius or Chinese dou.
- 9 bite by a bird wordnet
- 10 A great deal; a large or excessive quantity.
"She figured most children probably ate a peck of dirt before they turned ten."
- 11 a United States dry measure equal to 8 quarts or 537.605 cubic inches wordnet
- 12 a British imperial capacity measure (liquid or dry) equal to 2 gallons wordnet
- 13 (often followed by ‘of’) a large number or amount or extent wordnet
Verb
- 1 To strike or pierce with the beak or bill (of a bird). ambitransitive
"The birds pecked at their food."
- 2 To throw. regional
- 3 bother persistently with trivial complaints wordnet
- 4 To form by striking with the beak or a pointed instrument. transitive
"to peck a hole in a tree"
- 5 To lurch forward; especially, of a horse, to stumble after hitting the ground with the toe instead of the flat of the foot.
"Anyhow, one of them fell, another one pecked badly, and Jerry disengaged himself from the group to scuttle up the short strip of meadow to win by a length."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 eat like a bird wordnet
- 7 To strike, pick, thrust against, or dig into, with a pointed instrument, especially with repeated quick movements.
- 8 eat by pecking at, like a bird wordnet
- 9 To seize and pick up with the beak, or as if with the beak; to bite; to eat; often with up.
"This fellow pecks up wit as pigeons peas."
- 10 hit lightly with a picking motion wordnet
- 11 To do something in small, intermittent pieces.
"He has been pecking away at that project for some time now."
- 12 kiss lightly wordnet
- 13 To type by searching for each key individually.
- 14 To type in general. rare
- 15 To kiss briefly.
"At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A place in the United States:; A city in Idaho.
- 3 A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Sedgwick County and Sumner County, Kansas.
- 4 A place in the United States:; A village in Michigan.
- 5 A place in the United States:; A town in Wisconsin.
Example
"She gave me a peck on the cheek."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "peck"?
Common synonyms include: abundance, acres, bags, barrel, barrels, batch.
How do you use "peck" in a sentence?
She gave me a peck on the cheek.
How do you pronounce "peck"?
Pronounced /pɛk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English pecken, pekken, variant of Middle English piken, picken, pikken (“to pick, use a pointed implement”). More at pick.
Etymology 2
Probably from Anglo-Norman pek, pekke, of uncertain origin.
Etymology 3
Variant of pick (“to throw”).
Etymology 4
* As an English surname, variant of Speake with loss of the initial letter. * Also as an English (and sometimes Irish) surname, variant of Peak, Petch, Peach. * As a south German surname, variant of Beck. Compare Pek, also found in Poland. * As a Dutch and north German surname, from pek (“pitch, tar, resin”). * As a Hungarian, Czech, Polish, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene surname, Americanized and Germanized from Pek, Pék meaning "baker," itself ultimately from the German verb backen.