pee

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitiveinformal

   To pass urine from the body; a casual word used instead of the more formal “urinate.”

   Grammar: No object; often follows need to or have to: I need to pee.

   Patterns

   • someone pees
   • need to pee
   • have to pee
   • pee in something

   I need to pee before we leave the house.

   The little boy said he had to pee and ran to the bathroom.

   Please do not pee in the pool.

2. 2noununcountableinformal

   Urine, the liquid waste that leaves the body; this use is casual and less formal than “urine.”

   Grammar: Usually uncountable; say some pee, not a pee, when you mean the liquid itself.

   Patterns

   • the smell of pee
   • wet with pee
   • someone’s pee

   There was a strong smell of pee near the elevator.

   The puppy’s bed was wet with pee.

   Clean the cage if it smells like pee.

Word forms

Common combinations

need to pee

She said she needed to pee right away.

go pee

The toddler asked to go pee before bed.

have a pee

He stopped the car to have a pee.

smell of pee

The hallway had a stale smell of pee.

wet with pee

The blanket was wet with pee.

Synonyms and how they differ

urinate

The neutral formal verb; use it in medical, school, or polite writing instead of pee.

wee

A mainly British informal word with the same casual feeling as pee.

piss

Also means urinate, but it is vulgar and can sound rude or aggressive, so it is not a polite substitute.

Commonly confused: pee or pea?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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