Dictionary-Definition.com :: Peep definition

Definition of 'peep'

noun

The short weak cry of a young bird [syn: cheep, peep]

noun

A secret look [syn: peek, peep]

verb

Look furtively; "He peeped at the woman through the window"

verb

Cause to appear; "he peeped his head through the window"

verb

Make high-pitched sounds; "the birds were chirping in the bushes" [syn: peep, cheep, chirp, chirrup]

verb

Speak in a hesitant and high-pitched tone of voice

verb

Appear as though from hiding; "the new moon peeped through the tree tops"

From: GCIDE

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. [1913 Webster]
There was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. --Is. x. 14. [1913 Webster]
2. To begin to appear; to look forth from concealment; to make the first appearance; as, the sun peeped over the eastern hills. [1913 Webster]
When flowers first peeped, and trees did blossoms bear. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
3. To look cautiously or slyly; to peer, as through a crevice; to pry. [1913 Webster]
Peep through the blanket of the dark. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
From her cabined loophole peep. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]

From: GCIDE

Peep \Peep\ (p[=e]p), n.
1. The cry of a young chicken; a chirp. [1913 Webster]
2. First outlook or appearance. [1913 Webster]
Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn. --Gray. [1913 Webster]
3. A sly look; a look as through a crevice, or from a place of concealment. [1913 Webster]
To take t' other peep at the stars. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
4. (Zool.) (a) Any small sandpiper, as the least sandpiper ({Trigna minutilla}). (b) The European meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis). [1913 Webster]
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] [1913 Webster]