peer
Pluralpeers
Pluralpeers
- 1Someone of the same age, rank or ability as another person, or a thing equal in value to another.
As a chess player, she has no peer in her club.
Teenagers often care a lot about what their peers think of them.
Similarequal, counterpart, contemporary
Note
- 2
- 3
- 4A noble with a high title, such as a duke or a baron.
The peer arrived at the palace in a fine carriage.
Hundreds of peers came to see the new king crowned.
UsageSay a peer of the realm.
Similarnoble, lord, nobleman, aristocrat
Oppositecommoner
Note
Less common meanings
- 5
- 6To come into sight or begin to appear.
And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds, / So honour peereth in the meanest habit.
c. 1590, William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”Here, peereth means comes into view or shows itself.I, I, let you alone, cunning Artificer! / See, hovv his gorget peeres aboue his govvne; / To tell the people, in vvhat danger he vvas.
1611, Ben[jamin] Jonson, Catiline His ConspiracyHere, peeres means shows or appears, so the armor shows above his gown.Note
- 7To make one person or thing equal in rank to another.
Being now Peered with the Lord Chancellor, and the Earl of Essex.
1670, Peter Heylyn, Aerius RedivivusHere, Peered means made equal in rank.Similarequate
Note
- 8To agree to carry another network's internet traffic while it carries yours, usually without anyone paying.
- 9A person who pees.
Submissive peeing, on the other hand, IS related to anxiety. But submissive peeing is not marking. A submissive peer is generally a very submissive dog.
2003, “Re: do female's "mark" their territory?”, in rec.pets.dogs.behavior (Usenet)Here, peer means one who pees, so a dog that pees from fear.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of peer apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
From Middle English peren ("to peer, gaze"), perhaps from an Old English word meaning "to look." The meaning "to be visible" may be a shortened form of appear.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The verb comes from Middle English peren, meaning 'to peer, gaze'. en.wiktionary.org
- It may derive from an Old English word meaning 'to look'; the proposed form is reconstructed. en.wiktionary.org
- The meaning 'to be visible' may result from shortening appear. en.wiktionary.org
The word goes back to Latin pār. It became per in Old French and then pere in Middle English. The words pair and par come from the same Latin word.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Peer goes back to Latin pār. en.wiktionary.org
- The word developed through Old French per and Middle English pere. en.wiktionary.org
- Pair comes from the same Latin word as peer. en.wiktionary.org
- Par comes from Latin pār. en.wiktionary.org