peckish

peckish — adjective

1. a little hungry and wanting something small to eat

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

a little hungry and wanting something small to eat

Example

By noon, Mia was peckish and bought a cheese roll at the station.

be peckish before buying a snack

After swimming for an hour, the boys felt peckish and shared bananas.

feel peckish after activity

Common collocations
  • feel peckish
  • get peckish
  • grow peckish
  • a bit peckish
Synonyms
  • hungry

    broader and much more common; it can describe mild or strong need for food

  • snacky

    very informal and often suggests wanting a small tasty thing, not always real hunger

Antonyms
  • full

    having eaten enough and not wanting more food

  • satisfied

    not needing food because your hunger has been met

Grammar Patterns

feel peckish

get peckish

be peckish

Usage Note

Usually follows a linking verb such as be, feel, get, or grow, rather than coming before a noun. Common in informal British English for mild hunger, often when a snack would be enough.

Common Mistakes

I ate a peckish sandwich at three.
I felt peckish at three, so I ate a sandwich.
peckish describes a person's feeling, not the food.
After missing breakfast, I was only peckish by three o'clock.
After missing breakfast, I was really hungry by three o'clock.
peckish suggests mild hunger, not strong hunger.

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Peckish is milder than hungry. If you feel peckish, a small bite, a cookie, or a sandwich would probably be enough. Hungry is the general word and can describe anything from a light wish for food to a strong need to eat. Snacky is very informal and often suggests wanting to nibble because something looks good, even when you are not truly hungry. Peckish is also more common in British English than in American English. A child after school might say, "I'm peckish," before asking for toast. After a long hike with no lunch, the same child is more likely to say, "I'm hungry."

peckish ↗hungry ↗snacky

Common collocations

Adverbs

Phrases

  • feel peckish
  • get peckish
  • grow peckish

Etymology

English

Peckish was formed in English from peck with the ending -ish. In this word, peck comes from an older use meaning to eat in small bites, like a bird picking at food. The ending -ish often adds the idea of "somewhat," so peckish came to mean a little hungry rather than very hungry.