peckish
(colloquial) irritable; crotchety.
Seen in the wild
Absolute props to Lesley Manville for keeping an awards sausage to hand in case she gets peckish at the Tonys.
Someone please send me Donald Trump. I'm here right now. I'll just ... forget him in all that forest. The ice on the Hudson is breaking up, the occupants will be a little peckish, and not particularly choosy about the…
I'll get peckish within an hour 😩
FINALLY I have finished the fullbody example for my new price sheet!! 🌿 I am also planning on raising my costs a bit since my art style has heavily changed since early 2025 haha - //Peckish.paws🌀\\ - #furry #furryar…
What does it matter if we know about it or not? What will change? (Feeling a little peckish today.)
Definitions
(colloquial) irritable; crotchety.
After that run, I'm feeling a bit peckish.
Comments
(colloquial, British) mildly hungry.
After that run, I'm feeling a bit peckish.
Peckish means: mildly hungry.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up. For most families this word will pass by without incident; it is more a vocabulary curiosity than a parenting concern.
peckish means: mildly hungry.. Register: neutral, standard English. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself. A formal-English equivalent (a synonym or descriptive phrase) is usually safer in writing. When in doubt, paraphrase rather than reuse the slang form.
“Absolute props to Lesley Manville for keeping an awards sausage to hand in case she gets peckish at the Tonys.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Someone please send me Donald Trump. I'm here right now. I'll just ... forget him in all that forest. The ice on the Hudson is breaking up, the occupants will be a little peckish, and not particularly choosy about their source of fat and calories.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I'll get peckish within an hour 😩”
— Bluesky· May 2026“FINALLY I have finished the fullbody example for my new price sheet!! 🌿 I am also planning on raising my costs a bit since my art style has heavily changed since early 2025 haha - //Peckish.paws🌀\\ - #furry #furryart #furryartist #furrycommission #furryfandom”
— Bluesky· May 2026“What does it matter if we know about it or not? What will change? (Feeling a little peckish today.)”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang
UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
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Semantically related
- peevish77%
Quick to become bad-tempered or cross, especially due to insignificant matters; irritable, pettish, petulant.
- tetchy73%
(UK, Irish, Commonwealth, Southern US) : easily annoyed or irritated, peevish, testy, irascible; also (figurative) extremely sensitive, difficult to manage, use, or work.
- pet68%
To be peevish; to sulk.
- fratchy68%
(UK, informal) Irritable or argumentative.