peek

[ peek ]
See synonyms for peek on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object)
  1. to look or glance quickly or furtively, especially through a small opening or from a concealed location; peep; peer.

noun
  1. a quick or furtive look or glance; peep.

Origin of peek

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English piken (verb); perhaps dissimilated variant of kiken “to look furtively, keek”; see keek

synonym study For peek

1. See peep1.

Words that may be confused with peek

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use peek in a sentence

  • And he has a horse, Mr. Mazzini has, a fat old plug that peeks around his blinders as humorously as his master.

  • Betty peeks cautiously out, but hearing footsteps quickly withdraws.

    Contemporary One-Act Plays | Sir James M. Barrie
  • "I have a message from Detroit informing me that my father is very sick," added Peeks, opening the despatch.

    Up the River | Oliver Optic
  • I told my father that Peeks had been obliged to leave, and that I must look up a steward at once.

    Up the River | Oliver Optic
  • Peeks and Sands slept in the cabin; and if the stewardess was wanted in the night, she could be called.

    Down South | Oliver Optic

British Dictionary definitions for peek

peek

/ (piːk) /


verb
  1. (intr) to glance quickly or furtively; peep

noun
  1. a quick or furtive glance

Origin of peek

1
C14 pike, related to Middle Dutch kiken to peek

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012