1 B2 idiomatic neutral
to eat food in very small amounts or with little appetite
"She just pecked at her salad and said she wasn't hungry."
inseparable
peck at
B2 neutral inseparable transitive
to eat or touch something in small repeated bits, or to work at something slowly
In plain English
to do something little by little with small quick touches or bites
What does "peck at" mean?
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B2 neutral
to hit or touch something with small repeated movements, like a bird using its beak
"The chicken pecked at the ground near the fence."
inseparable
3 C1 idiomatic neutral
to work on something slowly, in small stages, without much progress
"He spent the afternoon pecking at the report between phone calls."
inseparable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
to strike with the beak at something repeatedly
Actually means
to do something little by little with small quick touches or bites
Usage tip
Often used literally for birds, but also figuratively for eating very little or making slow, small efforts at work.
Words that pair with "peck at"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
food plate keyboard problem ground seeds
How to conjugate "peck at"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
peck at
I/you/we/they
3rd person
pecks at
he/she/it
Past simple
pecked at
yesterday
Past participle
pecked at
have + pp
-ing form
pecking at
continuous
Hear "peck at" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "peck at" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Other ways to say "peck at"
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