peripheral

adjective

pe·riph·er·al | \ pə-ˈri-f(ə-)rəl

Definition of peripheral

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : of, relating to, involving, or forming a periphery or surface part

2a : of, relating to, affecting, or being part of the peripheral nervous system peripheral nerves peripheral neuritis

b : of, relating to, or being blood in the systemic circulation peripheral lymphocytes

3 : of, relating to, or being the outer part of the field of vision good peripheral vision

4 : auxiliary, supplementary peripheral equipment also : of or relating to computer peripherals

peripheral

noun

Definition of peripheral (Entry 2 of 2)

: a device connected to a computer to provide communication (such as input and output) or auxiliary functions (such as additional storage)

Other Words from peripheral Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about peripheral

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Synonyms & Antonyms for peripheral

Synonyms: Adjective

accessorial, accessory, appurtenant, auxiliary, supplemental, supplementary

Antonyms: Adjective

chief, main, principal

Did You Know?

Your peripheral vision is the outer area of your field of vision, where you can still detect movement and shapes. It can be very valuable when, for instance, you're driving into Chicago at rush hour, especially when switching lanes. When people call an issue in a discussion peripheral, they mean that it's not of primary importance, and they're probably suggesting that everyone get back to the main topic. Peripheral is now also a noun: computer peripherals are the added components—printers, webcams, microphones, etc.—that increase a computer's capacities.

Examples of peripheral in a Sentence

Adjective

If we focus too much on peripheral issues, we will lose sight of the goal. peripheral devices such as modems and scanners He saw in his peripheral vision that a car was trying to pass him.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

But of course, there’s also a lot of peripheral stuff that’s pointing to ugly parts of Swedish history and European history. — Alissa Wilkinson, Vox, "Ari Aster on his new film Midsommar: “I keep telling people I want it to be confusing”," 2 July 2019 Even if that is nothing more than trade-season posturing, some of the peripheral numbers that executives weigh are troubling enough to give some of them pause. — Henry Schulman, SFChronicle.com, "Bumgarner trade-o-meter lights up with 11-strikeout performance in Giants win," 25 June 2019 Alleviate peripheral work The key is to create a system in which the end user still provides the intellectual spark. — Amy Lokey, Quartz at Work, "How to design AI tools for the workplace, according to Google," 21 June 2019 Liu squinted, displeased with the peripheral placement of China, which had been put with India and Burma. — Jiayang Fan, The New Yorker, "Liu Cixin’s War of the Worlds," 17 June 2019 During the investigation, Mueller was quite willing to examine peripheral issues such as the scoundrelly behavior of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and the inside lobbying of Paul Manafort for foreign governments. — Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, "The FBI Tragedy: Elites above the Law," 11 June 2019 While most baseball searches at most major universities would feel like peripheral hires, given how things have dragged out and transpired at Oregon State, there are a lot of eyes on Barnes. — oregonlive.com, "Canzano: Tangled times in Corvallis -- Oregon State AD boxed in by baseball hire," 6 June 2019 By bypassing your peripheral tissues, MCTs are less likely to be stored as fat in your body. — Jaclyn London, Ms, Rd, Cdn, Good Housekeeping, "The Truth About Bulletproof Coffee, According to a Nutritionist," 5 Nov. 2018 The study’s findings came from investigating how early pancreatic tumors affect peripheral tissues — mainly muscle and fat — in both mice and humans. — Justin Chen, STAT, "Muscle and fat loss may offer clues to pancreatic cancer’s deadly ways," 20 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

These two deities of American song are currently scheduled to live forever, but in the 21st century their new music feels culty and peripheral. — Chris Richards, Washington Post, "Bruce Springsteen and Madonna are subcultures now," 17 June 2019 Issues that are actually important, such as the monopoly market and speech-squelching power of big-tech firms such as Facebook and Twitter, are treated as peripheral. — Jeremy Carl, National Review, "Debating Net Neutrality: Big-Tech Monopolies Are the Real Problem," 11 June 2019 Titan Ridge actually came out earlier last year, but the chipsets are still relatively rare in peripherals and laptops. — Gordon Mah Ung, PCWorld, "Razer's Core X Chroma eGPU cabinet features RGB and Intel's latest Thunderbolt 3 controller," 16 Apr. 2019 First, of course, your PC must be running the latest Insider builds (not 18356, but 18335 or higher is recommended), and include a Bluetooth radio that supports low energy peripheral technology. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Android phone mirroring arrives in new Windows 10 preview build 18356," 13 Mar. 2019 About 450 peripherals have also been designed around Thunderbolt, Intel said. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "The new USB4 spec promises a lot: Thunderbolt 3 support, 40Gbps bandwidth, and less confusion," 5 Mar. 2019 Corsair One: Gamers know Corsair’s peripherals—keyboards, cases, headsets, fans. — Alexander George, Popular Mechanics, "How To Get Into the High-Powered World of Gaming PCs," 20 Sep. 2018 To help adjust, a whole industry of charging peripherals have grown up with smartphones, offering power hungry users extra juice to get through their day. — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, "Power Up With RavPower's Discounted Chargers and Power Banks," 26 Feb. 2019 Wide-eyed Coco (Natalia Dyer) and bitter Bryson (Billy Magnussen) remain on the peripheral, watching the art world devour itself and trying in vain to find their entry point while remaining unscathed. — Candice Frederick, Harper's BAZAAR, "Netflix's Velvet Buzzsaw Shouldn't Work—But It (Mostly) Does," 3 Feb. 2019

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