peck

/pɛk/

/pɛk/

Other forms: pecking; pecked; pecks

To peck is to jab or bite at something the way a bird does with its beak. A peck is also a unit of measurement, like when Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. (“Eight quarts” just didn’t sound right.)

Most birds peck at their food, and when a person eats in a bird-like way, they also peck. Another way to peck is to give someone a light kiss, a peck on the cheek. A completely different kind of peck is a unit of measurement. In the US, a peck is one quarter of a bushel, or two gallons of a dry substance. The verb sense of peck comes from 1500s thieves' slang, in which it meant "food."

Definitions of peck

1. verb

   hit lightly with a picking motion
   synonyms: beak, pick

   type of:

   strike, zonk

   deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
2. verb

   eat like a bird
   synonyms: peck at, pick at

   type of:

   eat

   take in solid food
3. verb

   eat by pecking at, like a bird
   synonyms: pick up

   type of:

   eat

   take in solid food
4. verb

   kiss lightly
   synonyms: smack

   type of:

   buss, kiss, osculate, snog

   touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
5. verb

   bother persistently with trivial complaints
   synonyms: hen-peck, nag

   type of:

   complain, kick, kvetch, plain, quetch, sound off

   express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness
6. noun

   a British imperial capacity measure (liquid or dry) equal to 2 gallons
   type of:

   British capacity unit, Imperial capacity unit

   a unit of measure for capacity officially adopted in the British Imperial System; British units are both dry and wet
7. noun

   a United States dry measure equal to 8 quarts or 537.605 cubic inches
   type of:

   United States dry unit

   a unit of measurement of capacity for dry substances officially adopted in the United States Customary System
8. noun

   (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
   synonyms: batch, deal, flock, good deal, great deal, hatful, heap, lot, mass, mess, mickle, mint, mountain, muckle, passel, pile, plenty, pot, quite a little, raft, sight, slew, spate, stack, tidy sum, wad

   types:

   barrage, deluge, flood, flurry, inundation, torrent

   an overwhelming number or amount

   haymow

   a mass of hay piled up in a barn for preservation

   type of:

   large indefinite amount, large indefinite quantity

   an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude