Meaning

(chiefly by a wife) To nag persistently..

Definitions by Sense

1. (chiefly by a wife) To nag persistently.
2. (Of a hen) to peck or peck at another bird.
3. (rare) A man who is meekly subservient to his wife.

Example Sentences

But—Oh! ye lords of ladies intellectual, Inform us truly, have they not hen-peck'd you all?

He wears a beard, and he likes his women to be slaves. What man doesn’t? What man would be henpecked, I say? We will cut off all the heads in Christendom or Turkeydom rather than that.

I don't want to hen-peck you ! Hen-pecking is shocking bad taste. But I won't be a slighted, neglected wife; I have a spirit of my own, and I won't meekly submit to be ignored.

Well, one never hears a woman boast that she henpecks her husband, even though there are many, for the reason that she realizes it is wrong.

We have friends who thought it was cute when their daughter "hen-pecked" her husband. But, when their son married a spicy little gal who tried to hen-peck their son, they were very angry.

Laura didn't have to hen-peck the man; he was a self-made wimp.

Mrs Allsop and her bar-blue brother travelled well together in good times, but after they ducketed she would chase him from niche to niche, henpecking him while Monte tried to collar them and collect their rings.

One can't swear that Dewan Bahadur Yama Dharma Rao was a henpeck ; nor could be said that the practical Lady was a cockpeck.

Word Forms

• henpecks
• henpecking
• henpecked
• hen-peck
• hen peck

Related Words

When Should You Use Hen peck?

Use hen peck when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions