1
: one that is of equal standing with another : equal
The band mates welcomed the new member as a peer.
especially
: one belonging to the same societal group especially based on age, grade, or status
teenagers spending time with their peers
2
a
: a member of one of the five ranks (duke, marquess, earl, viscount, or baron) of the British peerage
b
: noble sense 1
Peers and commoners alike were shown the same courtesy.
3
archaic
: companion
peer
adjective
peered; peering; peers
1
: to look narrowly or curiously
a child peering from behind a tree
especially
: to look searchingly at something difficult to discern
She peered into the dark closet looking for her missing shoe.
2
: to come slightly into view : emerge partly
… a vast white cloud, through which the sun peered …—
Francis Kingdon-Ward
Francis Kingdon-WardExamples of peer in a Sentence
Noun
He was respected and admired by his peers.
teenagers spending time with their peer groups
Verb (1)
visitors seem mesmerized as they peer at the variety of marine life in the aquarium's huge tank
Recent Examples on the Web
Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026
Unlike their peers in other major leagues, NBA players can invest in sports gambling companies and advertise for them, a right negotiated in the 2023 collective bargaining agreement.
—Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2026
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Feb. 2026
But at the time, mammography was a 40-year-old procedure that remained stubbornly analog—with doctors peering at sheets of X-ray film through jeweler’s loupes.
—Erik German, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for peer
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Seconds of disaster, hours of harrowing wait A disaster that unfolded in seconds left a group of survivors waiting on a mountainside for hours in frigid temperatures, knowing that many of their peers would not be making it out alive.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026
Unlike their peers in other major leagues, NBA players can invest in sports gambling companies and advertise for them, a right negotiated in the 2023 collective bargaining agreement.
—Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2026
Verb
Zhao’s team realized that, for peering around corners, those longer wavelengths are actually an advantage, according to a press release.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Feb. 2026
But at the time, mammography was a 40-year-old procedure that remained stubbornly analog—with doctors peering at sheets of X-ray film through jeweler’s loupes.
—Erik German, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for peer
Cite this Entry
“Peer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peer. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
peer
1 of 2 noun1
: a person of the same rank or class as another
2
a
: a member of one of the five ranks of the British nobility
b
peer
2 of 2 verb1
: to look closely or curiously
peered into the dark closet
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
