[syn: peep, cheep, chirp, chirrup]
4. speak in a hesitant and high-pitched tone of voice;
5. appear as though from hiding;
- Example: "the new moon peeped through the tree tops"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Peep \Peep\ (p[=e]p), n.
1. The cry of a young chicken; a chirp.
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2. First outlook or appearance.
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Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn. --Gray.
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3. A sly look; a look as through a crevice, or from a place
of concealment.
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To take t' other peep at the stars. --Swift.
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4. (Zool.)
(a) Any small sandpiper, as the least sandpiper (Trigna
minutilla).
(b) The European meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis).
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Peep show, a small show, or object exhibited, which is
viewed through an orifice or a magnifying glass.
Peep-o'-day boys, the Irish insurgents of 1784; -- so
called from their visiting the house of the loyal Irish at
day break in search of arms. [Cant]
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Peep \Peep\ (p[=e]p), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Peeped (p[=e]pt); p.
pr. & vb. n. Peeping.] [Of imitative origin; cf. OE. pipen,
F. piper, p['e]pier, L. pipire, pipare, pipiare, D. & G.
piepen. Senses 2 and 3 perhaps come from a transfer of sense
from the sound which chickens make upon the first breaking of
the shell to the act accompanying it; or perhaps from the
influence of peek, or peak. Cf. Pipe.]
1. To cry, as a chicken hatching or newly hatched; to chirp;
to cheep.
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There was none that moved the wing, or opened the
mouth, or peeped. --Is. x. 14.
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2. To begin to appear; to look forth from concealment; to
make the first appearance; as, the sun peeped over the
eastern hills.
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When flowers first peeped, and trees did blossoms
bear. --Dryden.
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3. To look cautiously or slyly; to peer, as through a
crevice; to pry.
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Peep through the blanket of the dark. --Shak.
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From her cabined loophole peep. --Milton.
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Peep sight, an adjustable piece, pierced with a small hole
to peep through in aiming, attached to a rifle or other
firearm near the breech.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
peep
n 1: the short weak cry of a young bird [syn: cheep, peep]
2: a secret look [syn: peek, peep]
v 1: look furtively; "He peeped at the woman through the window"
2: cause to appear; "he peeped his head through the window"
3: make high-pitched sounds; "the birds were chirping in the
bushes" [syn: peep, cheep, chirp, chirrup]
4: speak in a hesitant and high-pitched tone of voice
5: appear as though from hiding; "the new moon peeped through
the tree tops"