Meaning & use
peer
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person who is equal to another in age, status or ability, especially within the same group.
Grammar: Usually plural: her peers. It also works in compounds like peer pressure.
Patterns
- among your peers
- a peer of someone
She was respected by her peers in the department.
Teenagers often care more about the opinion of their peers than their parents'.
Among his peers, he was the fastest swimmer.
nouncountableBritish
A member of the nobility in Britain, such as a duke or baron, who may sit in the House of Lords.
Grammar: A countable noun used in British contexts: a life peer.
Patterns
- a life peer
- a peer of the realm
The peer gave a speech in the House of Lords.
She was made a life peer for her charity work.
Several peers voted against the bill.
verbintransitive
To look hard or closely, usually because something is far away, dark or unclear.
Grammar: No direct object; usually followed by at, into, out of or through: peer into the fog.
Patterns
- peer at something
- peer into something
- peer through something
He peered through the keyhole.
She peered at the tiny print on the label.
The children peered out of the window at the snow.
Word forms
| plural | peers |
|---|---|
| third person singular | peers |
| past tense | peered |
| past participle | peered |
| -ing form | peering |
Common combinations
- peer pressure
- He started smoking because of peer pressure.
- peer review
- The article went through peer review before publication.
- peer group
- Her peer group all went to the same school.
- peer into
- She peered into the dark cellar.
- peer over
- He peered over the top of his glasses.
Synonyms and how they differ
- equal
- Equal stresses sameness of rank or ability, while peer focuses on belonging to the same group.
- colleague
- Colleague means someone you work with, so it is narrower than peer.
- squint
- As a verb, squint means to narrow your eyes to see, whereas peer describes looking closely, with or without narrowing.
- gaze
- Gaze is a long, steady look, often admiring, while peer suggests effort to see something.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: peer or pier? peer or peek?
peer vs pier
A pier is a structure that extends into water; it sounds like peer but has nothing to do with equals or looking.
peer vs peek
Peek means a quick, often secret look, while peer is a longer, effortful look.
Practice
The detective ___ at the faded handwriting, trying to make out the date.
Choose one answer.
Peered at means looked hard to see something unclear. Peeked suggests a quick sneaky glance, which does not match the effort described.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “peer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.