# peek

Pronunciation: US say "PEEK" /pik/; AUS

## Verb

1. To look slyly, or with half-closed eyes, or through a crack or narrow opening. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To look at something secretly, through a small gap, or with your eyes almost shut.
   - _He lay still pretending to sleep, peeking at the clock through half-closed eyes._
   - _Neighbors peek through the blinds whenever a strange car parks on the street._
3. To be just partly in view, as though peering out from behind cover. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To show just a little, as if hiding and looking out.
   - _The sun peeked out from behind the clouds for a few minutes._
   - _Green shoots peek through the snow in early spring._

## Noun

2. A quick look at something.
   - Simple: A fast, short look at something.
   - _Can I take a peek at the menu before we order?_
   - _The open house offered buyers a quick peek inside the renovated lofts._

## Verb

4. To retrieve the value stored at a particular address in a computer's memory. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To read a number saved at one place in a computer's memory.
   - _The program peeks the byte at that address to check whether a key has been pressed._
   - _To read the joystick, you peek the value stored at the input port's address._

## Origin

From Middle English peken, piken, pyken ("to peep"), probably a fusion of Middle English pepen ("to peep") and keken, kiken ("to keek, look, spy"), in effect a blend of peep and keek.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/peek (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).