as in to pick at
to subject (someone) to constant scoldings and sharp reminders
kept pecking at their prodigal daughter to get off the couch and to start looking for a job
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peck (at)
Verb
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The dismissal marks the end of a series of federal criminal cases that once dogged Trump's political future.—
Alexander Mallin,
ABC News,
11 Feb. 2025 -
The cost-cutting project has also been dogged by a number of other recent controversies, including the case of 25-year-old staffer Marko Elez, who resigned after The Wall Street Journal published a string of racist posts from his X account.—
Will McCurdy,
PCMAG,
8 Feb. 2025
Verb
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In foreign affairs, Trump has needled allies Canada and Mexico.—
Bart Jansen,
USA TODAY,
3 Feb. 2025
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There was tension needling the east end of Glasgow.—
Michael Walker,
The Athletic,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The shooting led to outrage in the East Colfax community with friends and residents begging the Denver Police Department and city officials to do something about crime in the neighborhood.—
Noelle Phillips,
The Denver Post,
6 Feb. 2025
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For nearly a decade, District 79 officials waged a public relations battle, begging at the ballot box for taxpayers to approve a bond-issue referendum.—
Jesse Wright,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2025
Verb
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With his wife also urging him to get his recurrent sore throat checked, Theakston consulted a specialist and was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, a rare disease that attacked his voice box.—
Caroline Frost,
Deadline,
15 Feb. 2025
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With Altman urging Musk to focus on building a better AI product, who will win in the end?—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
15 Feb. 2025
Verb
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By James Parker Editor’s Note: Is anything ailing, torturing, or nagging at you?—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2025
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This is for the supervised system, where the driver is nagged to constantly watch the road, and takes over if the system does anything to make the driver uncomfortable.—
Brad Templeton,
Forbes,
29 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The devil will persist in bothering Martin Luther until the bald-headed monk dispatches him by hurling a bottle of ink.—
Contributed Content,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
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Imagine if the press covered all of that without bothering to even question it.—
Jeremy Gruber,
New York Daily News,
6 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The need is vast, but logistical problems hound efforts to keep people who are imprisoned on a regular schedule of medication.—
Ethan Varian,
The Mercury News,
6 Feb. 2025
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Dias is often seen hounding opposition strikers all the way back towards their own goal; if the ball is cleared up towards them, the Portuguese will be right there in their back, and snapping at any loose ball, even if that takes him up near the corner flag.—
Sam Lee,
The Athletic,
10 Jan. 2025
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Thesaurus Entries Near peck (at)
Cite this Entry
“Peck (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peck%20%28at%29. Accessed 19 Feb. 2025.
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