peeking

Pluralpeekings

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of peek.

   A neighbor was peeking through the blinds as the moving truck pulled up.

   The first green shoots are already peeking out of the snow.

   Note

   After be, the form describes a look in progress: she's peeking through the curtains. It rarely takes a direct object and usually leans on a preposition, at, through, out or over, and with out it often means only partly showing, like shoots peeking out of the snow. A dated computing use, reading a value from a memory address, shares the same spelling.

2. 2
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The act of someone who peeks, looking slyly or quickly at something, often through a gap or from a hiding place.

   Months of furtive peeking through the hedge finally got the boy caught by the neighbor.

   A little peeking behind the stage curtain told her the hall was already full.

   Similarpeeping, snooping, spying

   Note

   As a noun it usually names the habit or the act in general: no peeking until I say so. It can also be counted, and the plural peekings suggests repeated, furtive looks, often paired with similar words for skulking, as in peekings and lurkings. The register stays light and a little conspiratorial, suited to children, games and nosy neighbors.

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