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peg

Syllabification: (peg)
Pronunciation: /peg/

Translate peg | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of peg

noun

  • 1a short cylindrical piece of wood, metal, or plastic, typically tapered at one end, that is used for holding things together, hanging things on, or marking a position.
  • (also tent peg) a pin or bolt driven into the ground to hold one of the ropes or corners of a tent in position.
  • a short pin or cylindrical object in the neck of a stringed musical instrument around which the strings are wound, and which are turned to adjust their tension and so tune the instrument.
  • a bung for stoppering a cask.
  • informal a person’s leg.
  • a point or limit on a scale, especially of exchange rates.
  • 2chiefly Indian a measure of liquor:have a peg of whiskey
  • 3 informal a strong throw, especially in baseball.

verb (pegs, pegging, pegged)

  • 1 [with object] fix or make fast with a peg or pegs:drape individual plants with nets, pegging down the edges
  • 2 [with object] fix (a price, rate, or amount) at a particular level.
  • informal form a fixed opinion of; categorize:the officer probably has us pegged as anarchists
  • 3 informal throw (a ball) hard and low, especially in baseball:the catcher pegs the ball to the first baseman

Phrases

a peg to hang a matter on

something used as a pretext or occasion for the discussion or treatment of a wider subject.

a square peg in a round hole

a person in a situation unsuited to their abilities or character.

take someone down a peg or two

make someone realize that they are less talented or important than they think are.

Phrasal Verbs

peg away

informal continue working hard at or trying to achieve something, especially over a long period.

peg out

  • 1 informal, chiefly British die.
  • 2score the winning point at cribbage.
  • 3 Croquet hit the peg with the ball as the final stroke in a game.

peg something out

mark the boundaries of an area of land:I went out to peg out our assembly area

Origin:

late Middle English: probably of Low German origin; compare with Dutch dialect peg 'plug, peg'. The verb dates from the mid 16th century

peg in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of peg in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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