Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as place-brick.
  • noun plural Pieces pecked or knocked off.
  • noun The sport of throwing pebbles at birds to bring them down.
  • noun They crossed a road soon afterwards, and there close to them lay a heap of charming pebbles. “Look here,” shouted East, “here's luck! I've been longing for some good honest pecking this half-hour. Let's fill the bags, and have no more of this foozling bird's-nesting.”

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Present participle of peck.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • I’m probably not unique in making this mistake, but in modern American middle-class experience one hears the term pecking order and one reflexively locates oneself right smack, well, in the middle.

    MY EMPIRE OF DIRT Manny Howard 2010

  • I’m probably not unique in making this mistake, but in modern American middle-class experience one hears the term pecking order and one reflexively locates oneself right smack, well, in the middle.

    MY EMPIRE OF DIRT Manny Howard 2010

  • I’m probably not unique in making this mistake, but in modern American middle-class experience one hears the term pecking order and one reflexively locates oneself right smack, well, in the middle.

    MY EMPIRE OF DIRT Manny Howard 2010

  • I’m probably not unique in making this mistake, but in modern American middle-class experience one hears the term pecking order and one reflexively locates oneself right smack, well, in the middle.

    MY EMPIRE OF DIRT Manny Howard 2010

  • "Sixth, seventh and eighth grade is where what I call the pecking order starts to be established."

    unknown title 2009

  • "Talons are for hunting, or for hunting & pecking" is fabulous!!

    Salty! Jessica Hagy 2006

  • So when birds begin pecking out the hero’s eyes in Anansi Boys, it comes as a surprise when you start to laugh.

    Blog De Ganz | Archive | January 2006

  • At the top of this designation pecking order is the CFP designation.

    Brewed Fresh Daily AKA The BFD Blog Frank Revy 2009

  • What kind of pecking order rules apply when FOX anchors and pundits fight over who gets to smell her chair first after an appearence?

    Think Progress » Fox News VP: We ‘hope’ Palin will be ‘polarizing’ as a Fox News contributor. 2010

  • I think show business is ideally suited for heterosexuals, it's a very heterosexual business, it's run mostly by heterosexual men, and there's a kind of pecking order.

    DISSED Jordan Zakarin 2010

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