peep definition | Dictionary.com

peep

1 [peep]

–verb (used without object)

1.	to look through a small opening or from a concealed location.

2.	to look slyly, pryingly, or furtively.

3.	to look curiously or playfully.

4.	to come partially into view; begin to appear: the first crocuses peeping through the snow-covered ground.

–verb (used with object)

5.	to show or protrude slightly.

–noun

6.	a quick or furtive look or glance.

7.	the first appearance, as of dawn.

8.	an aperture for looking through.

Origin:
1425–75; late ME pepe; assimilated var. of peek

Synonyms:
1, 2. Peep, peek, peer mean to look through, over, or around something. To peep or peek is usually to give a quick look through a narrow aperture or small opening, often furtively, slyly, or pryingly, or to look over or around something curiously or playfully: to peep over a wall; to peek into a room. Peek is often associated with children's games. To peer is to look continuously and narrowly for some time, esp. in order to penetrate obscurity or to overcome some obstacle in the way of vision: The firefighter peered through the smoke.

peep

2 [peep]

–noun

1.	a short, shrill little cry or sound, as of a young bird; cheep; squeak.

2.	any of various small sandpipers.

3.	a slight sound or remark, esp. in complaint: I don't want to hear a peep out of any of you!

–verb (used without object)

4.	to utter the short, shrill little cry of a young bird, a mouse, etc.; cheep; squeak.

5.	to speak in a thin, weak voice.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME pepen, pipen; cf. D, G piepen, OF piper, L pipāre, Gk pippízein, Czech pípat, Lith pỹpti, all ult. of imit. orig.

peep

3 [peep]

–noun

jeep.

Origin:
1940–45, Americanism; appar. alter. of jeep

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To peep

peep¹ (pēp)

intr.v. peeped, peep·ing, peeps

To utter short, soft, high-pitched sounds, like those of a baby bird; cheep.
To speak in a hesitant, thin, high-pitched voice.

A short, soft, high-pitched sound or utterance, like that of a baby bird.
A slight sound or utterance: I don't want to hear a peep out of you.
Any of various small North American sandpipers.

[Middle English *pepen, probably alteration of pipen, from Old English pīpian, to pipe, from pīpe, tube, musical instrument, and from Latin pīpāre, to peep; see pipe.]

peep² (pēp)

v. peeped, peep·ing, peeps

v. intr.

To peek furtively; steal a quick glance.
To peer through a small aperture or from behind something.
To appear as though emerging from a hiding place: the moon peeping through the clouds.

v. tr.
To cause to emerge or become partly visible: He peeped his head through the door.
n.

A quick or furtive look or glance.
A first glimpse or appearance: the peep of dawn.

[Middle English pepen, perhaps alteration of piken, to peek; see peek.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Peep

Peep\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Peeped; p. pr. & vb. n. Peeping.] [Of imitative origin; cf. OE. pipen, F. piper, p['e]pier, L. pipire, pipare, pipiare, D. & G. piepen. Senses 2 and 3 perhaps come from a transfer of sense from the sound which chickens make upon the first breaking of the shell to the act accompanying it; or perhaps from the influence of peek, or peak. Cf. Pipe.]

1. To cry, as a chicken hatching or newly hatched; to chirp; to cheep.

There was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. --Is. x. 14.

2. To begin to appear; to look forth from concealment; to make the first appearance.

When flowers first peeped, and trees did blossoms bear. --Dryden.

3. To look cautiously or slyly; to peer, as through a crevice; to pry.

eep through the blanket of the dark. --Shak.

From her cabined loophole peep. --Milton.

Peep sight, an adjustable piece, pierced with a small hole to peep through in aiming, attached to a rifle or other firearm near the breech.

Peep

Peep\, n. 1. The cry of a young chicken; a chirp.

2. First outlook or appearance.

Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn. --Gray.

3. A sly look; a look as through a crevice, or from a place of concealment.

To take t' other peep at the stars. --Swift.

4. (Zo["o]l.) (a) Any small sandpiper, as the least sandpiper (Trigna minutilla). (b) The European meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis).

Peep show, a small show, or object exhibited, which is viewed through an orifice or a magnifying glass.

Peep-o'-day boys, the Irish insurgents of 1784; -- so called from their visiting the house of the loyal Irish at day break in search of arms. [Cant]

Language Translation for : peep

Spanish: espiar,

German: gucken,

Japanese: のぞく

More Translations »

peep (1)

"glance" (esp. through a small opening), 1460, perhaps alteration of M.E. piken (see peek). The noun was first in sense found in peep of day (1530); meaning "a furtive glance" is first recorded 1730. Peep-hole is from 1681; peep-show is from 1851 (not typically salacious until c.1914). Slang peeper "eye" is from c.1700. Peeping Tom "a curious prying fellow" is from 1796; connection with Lady Godiva story dates only from 1837.

peep (2)

"make a short chirp," c.1400, probably altered from pipen (c.1250), ultimately imitative (cf. L. pipare, Fr. pepier, Ger. piepen, Lith. pypti, Czech pipati, Gk. pipos). The noun is attested from 1423; meaning "slightest sound or utterance" (usually in a negative context) is attested from 1903. Peeper "tree frog" is first recorded 1857, Amer.Eng.

Main Entry: PEEP
Function: abbreviation
positive end-expiratory pressure

PEEP abbr.
positive end-expiratory pressure

peep

see hear a peep out of.

PEEP
positive end-expiratory pressure

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