peer Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a person who is of equal standing with another in a group
    compeer; equal; match.
  2. noun a nobleman (duke or marquis or earl or viscount or baron) who is a member of the British peerage
  3. verb look searchingly
    • We peered into the back of the shop to see whether a salesman was around

WordNet


Peer intransitive verb
Etymology
OF. parir, pareir equiv. to F. paraître to appear, L. parere. Cf. Appear.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Peered ; present participle & verbal noun Peering
Definitions
  1. To come in sight; to appear. Poetic
    So honor peereth in the meanest habit. Shak.
    See how his gorget peers above his gown! B. Jonson.
  2. Perh. a different word; cf. OE. piren, LG. piren. Cf. Pry to peep. To look narrowly or curiously or intently; to peep; as, the peering day. Milton.
    Peering in maps for ports, and piers, and roads. Shak.
    As if through a dungeon grate he peered. Coleridge.
Peer noun
Etymology
OE. per, OF. per, F. pair, fr. L. par equal. Cf. Apparel, Pair, Par, n., Umpire.
Definitions
  1. One of the same rank, quality, endowments, character, etc.; an equal; a match; a mate.
    In song he never had his peer. Dryden.
    Shall they consort only with their peers? I. Taylor.
  2. A comrade; a companion; a fellow; an associate.
    He all his peers in beauty did surpass. Spenser.
  3. A nobleman; a member of one of the five degrees of the British nobility, namely, duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron; as, a peer of the realm.
    A noble peer of mickle trust and power. Milton.
Peer transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To make equal in rank. R. Heylin.
Peer transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To be, or to assume to be, equal. R.

Webster 1913