pecking

/ˈpɛkɪŋ/

//ˈpɛkɪŋ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pecking" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pecking” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,787. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,787
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of peck

Corpus desk

Index EN-pecking · pecking · English

pecking · rank #33,787 · 11 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,787
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH PCA

Nearest frequency peer: PCA (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “pecking”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “pecking” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

pecking vs poking
71% similar
pecking vs Peking
71% similar
pecking vs puking
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for pecking
PropertyValue
Headwordpecking
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpɛkɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#33,787
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pecking”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).peckinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “PCA” (#33,786), “pertain” (#33,788), “patently” (#33,785). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pecking” is #33,787. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around pecking (IPA /ˈpɛkɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #33,787 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of peck".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for pecking, with forms such as "epcking", "pceking", and "peccking". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "poking", "Peking", "puking", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is pecking, spelled P-E-C-K-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of peck

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • epcking
  • pceking
  • peccking
  • pecikng
  • peckign
  • peckingg
  • peckinng
  • peckking
  • pecknig
  • pekcing
  • ppecking

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pecking - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

epcking2pceking2peccking1pecikng2peckign2peckingg1peckinng1peckking1
Edit distance from "pecking"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pecking"?
"pecking" is spelled P-E-C-K-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɛkɪŋ/.
What does "pecking" mean?
As a verb, "pecking" means: present participle and gerund of peck
What words are commonly confused with "pecking"?
"pecking" is commonly confused with "poking", "Peking", "puking". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pecking"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pecking" is /ˈpɛkɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pecking" come from?
"pecking" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pecking", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pertain#33,788parched#33,781Overton#33,776primacy#33,801

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

rectory11 variantsreprieve11 variantsresupply11 variantsMonterrey11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list