peek

play

verb \ ˈpēk \

Definition of peek

intransitive verb

1 a :to look furtively

A little girl peeked around the corner of the chair at him.

b :to peer through a crack or hole or from a place of concealment —often used with in or out

peeked in through the window
—J. M. Flagler

peeked out at us from behind the curtains
—Winifred Bambrick

2 :to take a brief look :glance

peeked ahead to the next chapter to see what would happen

See peek defined for English-language learners

See peek defined for kids

Examples of peek in a Sentence

A little girl peeked around the corner of the chair at him.
Close your eyes, and no peeking!
She peeked ahead to the next chapter to see what happened next.
He allowed some of his friends to peek at his next painting.

Recent Examples of peek from the Web

Jameel's nose and mouth peek out from behind her shoulder.

— erica gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Rihanna Tries to Hide Her New Man Under Her Umbrella," 17 Aug. 2017
Because I’m heavily distracted by the condom wrapper flopped on top of a stinky pile of clothing behind you...and is that your PlayStation peeking out from underneath the gym shorts?

— sophie saint thomas, Allure, "The 9 Do’s And Don’ts Of Dick Pics," 14 July 2017
But for years, the Catholic parish was typically closed outside of traditional mass hours, leaving visitors no way to peek inside.

— caroline hallemann, Town & Country, "The Church Where Jackie Married JFK Opens to Tourists," 10 July 2017
Yes, in America, unlike Russia, there’s a vibrant alternative, but, in some parts of America, that alternative barely peeks through, as this report from rural Iowa notes: Most people here watch Fox News, and have for a generation.

— andrew sullivan, Daily Intelligencer, "Why Republicans Let Trump Take Over Their Party," 7 July 2017
Out walking the dog, weeding, planting, getting the mail — these are chances to peek into your lawn and see what’s really there.

— kenneth setzer, miamiherald, "Weed’s tale: the beguiling marsh pennywort," 6 July 2017
At one homicide scene in the district, onlookers peeked around the entrance to the Green Line station at Pulaski Road and Lake Street, trying to get a glimpse of the body of a man chased down and shot early Wednesday.

— peter nickeas, chicagotribune.com, "More than 100 people shot in Chicago over long Fourth of July weekend," 5 July 2017
Wright peeked through a hole in the front door, and the man shoved something through and poked her eye, which angered her.

— haley hansen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee woman set deadly house fire to get boyfriend out of house, charge says," 21 June 2017
To dissect a novel (the tragedy of The Goldfinch or pretentiousness of Private Citizens) is to peek into someone’s interior life ten minutes into meeting them.

— jason chen, The Cut, "Delete Grindr. Join Book Club.," 20 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'peek.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.