pecked

verb

Definition of peckednext
past tense of peck
1
as in nibbled
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

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pecked
  1. nibbled
  2. stabbed
  3. pierced
Verb
  • Photography Courtesy of Nickey Kehoe Guests nibbled from charcuterie boards while sipping Sauvignon Blanc and sparkling wine by Avaline or, for those avoiding a Friday morning hangover, Ghia’s zesty non-alcoholic aperitif, Le Fizz—though one cheeky guest elected to bring her own whiskey.
    Carly Olson, Architectural Digest, 9 Oct. 2024
  • The same urges that eat at all of us nibbled them down to single digits.
    Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
Definition of nibbled
Verb
  • The quick action of a Navy veteran turned Arizona State University student may have saved the life of a fellow student, who was repeatedly stabbed in a seemingly random attack on campus.
    Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 3 Oct. 2024
  • Or that Galadriel, the warrior, stood by and watched her new ally—who had just promised her a forever peace—get stabbed to death and did nothing to intervene, despite being fully capable of slicing up a dozen orcs.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Definition of stabbed
Verb
  • In August 2020, an inmate at Phillips State Prison was held hostage and tortured for four days, having been stabbed from behind with his eye pierced and suffering a traumatic brain injury, the report said.
    Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 1 Oct. 2024
  • For the People's Choice Awards in early 2024, the actor pierced her shiny chrome nails with little charms dangling off the tips.
    Kara Nesvig, Allure, 30 Sep. 2024
Definition of pierced
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near pecked

peck (at)

pecked

pecked (at)

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Pecked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pecked. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on pecked

Nglish: Translation of pecked for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of pecked for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
little chihuahua dressing like a turkey for thanksgiving
Is That Gratitude or Attitude? A Thanksgiving Quiz Decide which words express gratitude and which gi...