Library / English Dictionary

PEER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A person who is of equal standing with another in a group

Synonyms:

compeer; equal; match; peer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("peer" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "peer"):

associate (a person who joins with others in some activity or endeavor)

coeval; contemporary (a person of nearly the same age as another)

gangsta ((Black English) a member of a youth gang)

backup; backup man; fill-in; relief; reliever; stand-in; substitute (someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult))

replacement; successor (a person who follows next in order)

townsman (a person from the same town as yourself)

Holonyms ("peer" is a member of...):

peer group (contemporaries of the same status)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A nobleman (duke or marquis or earl or viscount or baron) who is a member of the British peerage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("peer" is a kind of...):

Lord; noble; nobleman (a titled peer of the realm)

Domain region:

Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "peer"):

viscountess (a noblewoman holding the rank of viscount in her own right)

viscount (a British peer who ranks below an earl and above a baron)

peer of the realm (a peer who is entitled to sit in the House of Lords)

marquess (a British peer ranking below a duke and above an earl)

life peer (a British peer whose title lapses at death)

Earl Marshal (an officer of the English peerage who organizes royal processions and other ceremonies)

earl (a British peer ranking below a marquess and above a viscount)

duke (a British peer of the highest rank)

baron (a British peer of the lowest rank)

Instance hyponyms:

Charles Cornwallis; Cornwallis; First Marquess Cornwallis (commander of the British forces in the American War of Independence; was defeated by American and French troops at Yorktown (1738-1805))

Holonyms ("peer" is a member of...):

baronage; peerage (the peers of a kingdom considered as a group)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Look searchingly

Example:

We peered into the back of the shop to see whether a salesman was around

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "peer" is one way to...):

look (perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

The ropes peer

Credits

 Context examples: 

Children who were overweight but not obese (BMI in the 85-94th percentile) also had a 17-percent increased asthma risk compared to healthy-weight peers.

(Obesity May Be to Blame for Quarter of Asthma Cases in Children, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Together, the spacecraft and telescope peer into the lower layers of the sun’s atmosphere, known as the interface region, where spicules form.

(Scientists Uncover Origins of the Sun’s Swirling Spicules, NASA)

I rushed to the window, and throwing it up, peered out between the bars.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

She has a puckered forehead, a peering expression, and probably rounded shoulders.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In a day or two I hope to pour them into your lap: for every privilege, every attention shall be yours that I would accord a peer's daughter, if about to marry her.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Every one was on his feet, peering and asking each other what it might mean.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I was still engaged in peering about, when Mr. Mell came back, and asked me what I did up there?

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I stooped and peered over his shoulder through the gap.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

While he lay in the bush, recovering from his fright and peering fearfully out, the mother-ptarmigan on the other side of the open space fluttered out of the ravaged nest.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Though global dust storms cloak the planet's surface, MRO can use its heat-sensing Mars Climate Sounder instrument to peer through the haze.

(Global Storms on Mars Launch Dust Towers Into the Sky, NASA)