peer
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Somebody who is, or something that is, at a level or of a value equal.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pirIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɪɹ
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
Somebody who is, or something that is, at a level or of a value equal (to that of something else).
Someone who is approximately the same age (as someone else).
A noble with a title, i.e., a peerage, and in times past, with certain rights and privileges not enjoyed by commoners.
A comrade; a companion; an associate.
A look; a glance.
informal
A nobleman (duke or marquis or earl or viscount or baron) who is a member of the British peerage
verb
intransitive
To look with difficulty, or as if searching for something.
“We peered into the back of the shop to see whether a salesman was around.”
To make equal in rank.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Somebody who is, or something that is, at a level or of a value equal (to that of something else).
Used this way, peer 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 peer
- “We peered into the back of the shop to see whether a salesman was around.”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.
Contemporaries of the same status.
A peer who is entitled to sit in the House of Lords.
Evaluate professionally a colleague's work.
A British peer whose title lapses at death.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The peers of a kingdom considered as a group.
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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.