pee-pee

Meanings

1. 1noununcountablechild language

   A babyish word for urine, or for the act of passing it.

   Grammar: Usually used without an article: do a pee-pee, though a pee-pee can also appear in baby talk.

   Patterns

   • do a pee-pee
   • need a pee-pee

   Do you need to do a pee-pee before we get in the car?

   There is pee-pee on the bathroom floor again.

   Our toddler proudly announced that she had done a pee-pee in the potty.

2. 2nouncountablechild languageeuphemistic

   A child's word for the penis.

   Grammar: Used by or to very young children; adults in serious talk use the proper medical term.

   The little boy told the nurse that his pee-pee hurt.

   Parents often teach correct body names rather than calling a penis a pee-pee.

Word forms

Common combinations

do a pee-pee

Let's do a pee-pee before bedtime.

need to pee-pee

I need to pee-pee, Mommy.

pee-pee in the potty

He was thrilled to pee-pee in the potty for the first time.

pee-pee accident

The class had one pee-pee accident during the field trip.

Synonyms and how they differ

wee-wee

This is the nearly identical nursery word, and it is somewhat more common in British English.

pee

Pee is the ordinary informal word that adults use without embarrassment, while pee-pee sounds babyish.

urine

Urine is the neutral, clinical term used in medicine and science, so it sounds out of place around toddlers.

tinkle

Tinkle is another playful euphemism, but it suggests a small amount and is used by adults more than children.

Word family

pee verb

to urinate, in informal speech

pee noun

urine, or an act of urinating

peed verb

the past tense of pee

potty noun

a small bowl-shaped toilet for young children

Commonly confused: pee-pee or pea-pea?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “pee-pee”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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