peers

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of peer.

   Students often learn as much from their peers as from their teachers.

   The researcher's findings were carefully reviewed by her peers before publication.

   Note

   One spelling gathers several crowds: equals in rank or value, people of about the same age, companions, and nobles holding a title. Context does the sorting. Reviewed by her peers means fellow specialists, while peers holding a peerage once enjoyed privileges that commoners lacked. An informal, jokey sense, people who pee, shares the spelling, so the word can wobble in a playful setting.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of peer.

   The cat peers cautiously around the corner before stepping into the room.

   She peers into the microscope, slowly adjusting the focus.

   Note

   The -s form that pairs with he, she or it looks exactly like the plural noun: she peers versus her peers. In its looking sense the verb is intransitive, so a preposition carries the target: peers into the microscope, peers around the corner. Networking gives it a technical use. A provider peers when it exchanges traffic with another network without charge, in contrast to transit, which is paid for.

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