peerverb [ I usually + adv/prep ]
uk/pɪər/us/pɪr/C2 to look carefully or with difficulty:
When no one answered the door, she peered through the window to see if anyone was there.
The driver was peering into the distance trying to read the road sign.
More examples
- I peered through a chink in the curtains and saw them all inside.
- They leaned over the rails and peered down into the dizzying chasm below.
- We peered through the crack in the floorboards.
- The car nosed out of the side street, its driver peering anxiously around.
- She peered closely at the map.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Using the eyes
- before your very eyes idiom
- beheld
- bore
- breathe
- come to sb's attention/notice idiom
- dart
- eye
- feast
- gawk
- get a load of that! idiom
- get him, her, you, etc.! idiom
- keep tabs on sth/sb idiom
- look-see
- observational
- out of/from the corner of your eye idiom
- passer-by
- rest
- sneak
- squint
- visual
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peernoun [ C ]
uk/pɪər/us/pɪr/peer noun [ C ] (EQUAL)
C1 a person who is the same age or has the same social position or the same abilities as other people in a group:
Do you think it's true that teenage girls are less self-confident than their male peers?
He wasn't a great scholar, but as a teacher he had few peers (= not as many people had the same ability as him).
More examples
- As the daughter of the president, she enjoys high status among her peers.
- When it comes to mathematics, he's in a different class to his peers.
- He doesn't really want to join in, it's just peer pressure.
- Teenagers are often worried about looking stupid in front of their peers.
- British children are less capable readers at this age than their Scandinavian peers.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Friends, acquaintances & contemporaries
- a friend in need is a friend indeed idiom
- acquaintance
- acquainted
- amigo
- bedmate
- companion
- comrade
- escort
- flatmate
- friendless
- gang
- girl
- girlfriend
- intimate 1
- neighbour
- peer group
- pen pal
- penfriend
- playmate
- posse
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peer noun [ C ] (HIGH RANK)
in the UK, a person who has a high social position and any of a range of titles, including baron, earl, and duke, or a life peer:
a hereditary peer
a Conservative peer
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Royalty, aristocracy & titles
- accession
- archduke
- aristocracy
- aristocrat
- baron
- ennoble
- er
- esquire
- grace
- hereditary peer
- monarchist
- Mr
- Mrs
- nobility
- noble
- sheikh
- sire
- sovereign
- squire
- sultan
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