pecking

verb

present participle of peck
1
as in nibbling
to eat reluctantly and in small bites found out that fashion models never really eat—they just peck at small meals in expensive restaurants

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stabbing
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object the bird continued to peck the suet cake intently

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of pecking Fair Oaks’ famous chickens roam the property, pecking up shreds of lettuce that inevitably fall from the sandwiches. — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026 There Are No Foolproof Methods No single technique will completely prevent birds from pecking on your fruits. — Gemma Johnstone, The Spruce, 24 May 2026 Nyjer thistle seeds are also very small, and many birds will love pecking them off the sides or roof of your edible birdhouse. — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 May 2026 The siblings have been caught pecking and pushing each other during a feeding session. — Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026 Choose cloth that is dense enough to prevent the birds from pecking for seeds. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2026 The scene is right out of the 1950s with students pecking away at manual typewriters, the machines dinging at the end of each line. — Jocelyn Gecker, Fortune, 31 Mar. 2026 Our guy is just pecking away at his little typewriter or writing his memories in longhand. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026 The lead stretched to 12 early in the third quarter, but slowly and painfully for Parker, the hosts, with Archer attacking the glass, kept pecking away. — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pecking
  1. nibbling
  2. stabbing
  3. picking
  4. jabbing
  5. puncturing
  6. piercing
  7. sticking
  8. spitting
Verb
  • Not going full bore, as Jim said during Wednesday’s Morning Meeting, but nibbling.
    — Zev Fima, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026
  • At the event, some rugs were laid out on the grass in lieu of picnic blankets for guests to lounge on while nibbling on light bites; others were suspended from metal frames like tapestries.
    — Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of nibbling
Verb
  • On April 21, 2023, Garr was walking up Bridge Street in Drexel Hill when police said Weh brutally attacked him, stabbing and slashing the 15-year-old 11 times.
    — Joe Holden, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The 40-foot homemade boat was overloaded with 64 people, who panicked and jumped overboard after De La Rosa began stabbing people, a Homeland Security Investigations criminal complaint states.
    — David Goodhue October 12, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of stabbing
Verb
  • While the three were picking their way through a clump of trees at the far end of the cornfield, half a dozen does came out of the willows single file, walked under my platform within six yards of me, and started to feed.
    — Al Dawson, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The farm’s famous U-Pick strawberries are expected to be ready for picking Thursdays through Saturdays by Christmas in the adjacent property.
    — Kari Barnett, Sun Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of picking
Verb
  • Then, inside the death house, executioners struggled to find a vein, jabbing Pike with at least seven needles, according to her lawyers, one of whom watched in dismay.
    — Keri Blakinger, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2026
  • When handcuffed by investigators, Thakor denied jabbing his wife with a knife.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of jabbing
Verb
  • Executioners spent more than two hours trying to find a vein, possibly puncturing his bladder before giving up.
    — Keri Blakinger, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The shrapnel tore through the metal surrounding the engine, shattering the window at row 11, leaving a dent in the plane near row 8 and puncturing the body below the wing, as well as gouging and denting the tail, the NTSB said.
    — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of puncturing
Verb
  • The individual who inflicted the fatal injury drove the spear downward through the victim’s left chest cavity from the front, piercing major arteries and the lungs before creating the hole in the left scapula.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2026
  • An argument between children over a pizza slice escalated into a 10-year-old girl having a knife thrown at her chest, piercing her skin, by her 8-year-old brother Thursday, police said.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of piercing
Verb
  • The day rewards curiosity more than sticking stubbornly to the original plan.
    — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The priority the remainder of the year must be personnel evaluation, so sticking a full 17 games with Austin Jackson - who seems unlikely to be back next season - would be denying the front office and coaching staff a chance to see other players.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of sticking
Verb
  • Is this tobacco-spitting, plain-talking Jon Sumrall a coaching amalgamation of Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer?
    — Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Neutrons are unstable when they’re not bound in nuclei, spontaneously spitting out lighter particles in about 15 minutes to become the slightly lighter proton.
    — Cara Giovanetti, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of spitting

Phrases Containing pecking

Browse Nearby Words

pecker
pecking
pecking (at)
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Cite this Entry

“Pecking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pecking. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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