peck

As a bonus, she even offers up her cheek for a peck, which is as affectionate as things get between them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2026

Mr Rubiales has always maintained the kiss was a "consensual peck" but in the wake of the incident he was forced to resign as president of the Spanish football federation.

From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2024

The girl turned away before he could give her a peck on the head.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 19, 2023

The plover birds that peck the scraps from crocodile teeth without getting eaten — that’s symbiosis, right?

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2023

Others began at once to peck about for food.

From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli

Back in Beadnell, on the kind of grey blustery day when the rain pecks at your face, the Craster Arms has a steady stream of windbent visitors.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026

While some of the pecks are small, he said, “in the most extreme cases, the largest wounds can cover a big portion of the calves’ back and can be one meter long or even bigger.”

From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2023

If a chick pecks at a parent’s beak, it is asking for food, which comes in the form of partially digested fish.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 12, 2022

Every time the feisty bird's beak makes contact with the hard surface — at up to 20 pecks per second — the impact vibrates throughout its head and neck.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2022

My mom pecks me on the cheek and leaves my room.

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya

But surely some American women can relate to feeling pecked or prodded, and pushed aside when they reach middle age.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2024

Sometimes, the crows displayed their dislike of four by refusing to utter a sound; instead, they simply pecked at the screen to end the trial.

From Science Magazine ● May 22, 2024

But it does need to survive being pecked by a bird or chewed by other small animals.

From NewsForKids.net ● Feb. 23, 2024

He said Toby pecked at his reflection in a shiny black BMW that was parked on the site, causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2023

Trunktap hopped over to a crusty old pine tree and pecked a few deep holes in the bark.

From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown

“We keep pecking, pecking, pecking at them, and I start to see light at the end of the tunnel.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

In a time of distress, like a recession, “there’s a pecking order to who gets in the lifeboat first,” Ed Al-Hussainy, portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, told Barron’s late last year.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

Clarke's pecking order of strikers would most likely have had Adams in pole position, but that view is becoming harder to justify.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

When I imagined myself pecking away at the keyboard, I felt bad.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2026

Only it wasn’t a dream, for his room was filled with daylight pouring under the raised shade, and there was Nipper, pecking at the pane.

From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli