pecking

verb

Definition of peckingnext
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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pecking
  1. stabbing
  2. picking
  3. piercing
Verb
  • Whereas the first movie featured in particular explicit gun violence, Folie à Deux includes mostly harm via stabbing or blunt force trauma.
    Jack Smart, People.com, 3 Oct. 2024
  • Austin also expressed condolences to Gallant over a shooting and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv yesterday in which six people were killed, which Israeli police have called a terrorist attack.
    Andrea Mitchell, NBC News, 3 Oct. 2024
Definition of stabbing
Verb
  • Governments often do a poor job of picking winners.
    Ryan Craig, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024
  • These racists were then able to spin a narrative about how Black players were picking on Clark, relying on all the racist stereotypes of Black people as dangerous, violent, and treacherous.
    Susan M. Shaw, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of picking
Verb
  • With Bose’s 60th Anniversary Diamond Edition ones especially, the white is piercing and not difficult to spot.
    Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 3 Oct. 2024
  • Blaring guitars and clashing drums are paired, and piercing synths turn up the volume on Gartland’s alt-pop, making for a dynamic project exploring the inherent chaos of romance.
    Stephen Daw, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2024
Definition of piercing
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.

Phrases Containing pecking

Thesaurus Entries Near pecking

pecker

pecking

pecking (at)

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Pecking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pecking. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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More from Merriam-Webster on pecking

Nglish: Translation of pecking for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of pecking for Arabic Speakers

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