peep
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The short weak cry of a young bird.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
peepIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpip
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The short weak cry of a young bird
A short, soft, high-pitched sound, as made by a baby bird.
A quick look or glimpse, especially a furtive one.
A secret look
The sound of a steam engine's whistle; typically shrill.
The first partial appearance of something; a beginning to appear.
verb
Look furtively
“He peeped at the woman through the window.”
intransitive
To look, especially through a narrow opening, or while trying not to be seen or noticed.
To make a soft, shrill noise like a baby bird.
Speak in a hesitant and high-pitched tone of voice
To speak briefly with a quiet voice.
Cause to appear
“He peeped his head through the window.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The short weak cry of a young bird
Used this way, peep is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use peep
- “He peeped at the woman through the window.”verb
- “The new moon peeped through the tree tops.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A viewer who enjoys seeing the sex acts or sex organs of others.
Rear gunsight having an adjustable eyepiece with a small aperture through which the front sight and the target are aligned.
A small brown tree toad having a shrill call heard near wetlands of eastern United States and Canada in early spring.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.