peaked
- 1Simple past and past participle of peak.
The river peaked just below the flood line on Tuesday.
Interest in the show had peaked long before the finale aired.
Note
The regular -ed form serves every meaning of the verb, from a sailor's gaff peaked closer to upright to an audio signal that peaked into clipping. Most often it marks a maximum reached. After have it is the participle (had peaked); on its own it is the simple past. One verb meaning, to become sick or wan, sits close to the sickly adjective.
- 2
- 3SayPEE-kidUS/ˈpikɪd/UK/ˈpiːkɪd/Appearing pale and sickly, as though unwell or worn out.
He came back from the trip looking thin and peaked.
The child seemed peaked and feverish by nightfall.
Similarpale, sickly, wan, pallid, drawn
Note
A word for how someone looks rather than what ails them. It usually follows look or seem (she looked peaked and tired) and keeps company with pale and tired. In Fred C. Feddeck's Hale Men of Fordham: Hail! (2001), it is the verdict on Nixon beside a poised Kennedy. It shares its spelling with the pointed-cap adjective but has a separate origin, and peaky is its near twin.
Showing meanings only.
peaked is a form of peak
peak, verb: To reach the highest degree or maximum before beginning to decline. Full entry
- Spelling
- peak → peaked: add -ed
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /t/.
Practice
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