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peek

Pronunciation: /piːk/

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

verb

[no object, with adverbial]
  • look quickly or furtively:faces peeked from behind twitched curtains
  • protrude slightly so as to be just visible:his socks were so full of holes his toes peeked through

noun

  • a quick or furtive look:she sneaked a peek at the map

Origin:

late Middle English pike, pyke, of unknown origin

The word meaning ‘look quickly or furtively’ and ‘a quick or furtive look’ is peek, not peak: the sun peeks out only intermittently, a sneak peek at what’s in store. In some contexts this error is very common: for example, almost a third of citations for the expression a sneak peek in the Oxford English Corpus are for the incorrect spelling.

peek in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of peek in the US English dictionary