peekpeek /piːk/ verb [intransitive] 
Carefully he peeked through the glass window in the door. Paula opened the box and peeked inside. Shut your eyes and don’t peek!► see thesaurus at look2[always + adverb/preposition] if something peeks from somewhere, you can just see a small amount of it: The moon peeked out from behind the clouds.—peek noun [countable]: Diane took a quick peek at herself in the mirror.
WORD ORIGINpeek
Origin:
1300-1400 Perhaps from Dutch kieken ‘to look’VERB TABLE
peek
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | peek |
| he, she, it | peeks | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | peeked |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have peeked |
| he, she, it | has peeked | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had peeked |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will peek |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have peeked |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am peeking |
| he, she, it | is peeking | |
| you, we, they | are peeking | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was peeking |
| you, we, they | were peeking | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been peeking |
| he, she, it | has been peeking | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been peeking |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be peeking |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been peeking |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Billy peeked out from under his blanket.
- No fair! You peeked!
- Each users entries are kept separate from the others and can be password protected to prevent anyone else from peeking.
- Goldilocks' embarkation on her voyage of self-discovery begins with her trying to peek into the bears' house.
- He peeked outside the window curtains, at the children on the street.
- I tried peeking down through a gap between the bamboo slats.
- Nevertheless, a rainbow is peeking over the horizon.
- Trying not to disturb the azaleas, she peeked in the dining room window.
THESAURUS
to turn your eyes towards someone or something, so that you can see them: · You should never look directly at the sun.· After a while, he turned and looked at me.
especially spoken to look at something quickly, especially in order to find or check something: · I’ll have a look in my desk.· Take a look at this!
to look at someone or something for a short time and then look quickly away: · Damien glanced nervously at his watch.
(also take a peek/peep) to look quickly at something – used especially when you are not supposed to look, or when you are looking through a small gap: · The door was open so he peeked inside.· Katy peeped at her birthday present on the table.
to look very carefully, especially because you cannot see well: · Kenji was peering at the screen.
to look at someone in an angry way: · She glared at me as I got up to leave.
to look at someone or something for a long time without moving your eyes: · It’s rude to stare.· She stared straight into the camera.
to look at someone or something for a long time, often without realizing that you are doing it: · She gazed out of the window.· He lay on his bed gazing at the ceiling.
to look at someone or something for a long time, usually with your mouth open, because you are very shocked or surprised: · People gaped at him with wide-open mouths.
formal to look at someone or something, especially in a particular way: · He regarded her steadily.
Longman Language Activatorto look quickly to look quickly at someone or something and then look away again: glance at: · Dr Morse kept glancing nervously at his watch.· "Some of you may not be happy about what I have to say," he began, glancing at Janey.glance into/down/through etc: · Glancing into Neil's room, she noticed that his suitcase was packed.
to look at something quickly in order to check that everything is satisfactory: take a quick look/have a quick look at/around/through etc: · He took a quick look in the mirror, and went out of the house.· She had a quick look around the room before letting the guests in.
to look at something quickly and secretly, especially from a place where you cannot be seen: · When I heard the noise in the next room, I couldn't resist having a peek.peek/take a peek at: · The little girl peeked at me from behind her grandmother's skirt.peek/take a peek in/into/through/over etc: · We tip-toed into the room and peeked in the crib without waking the baby.· She opened the door and took a quick peek inside.
especially British to look at something quickly and secretly, especially from a place where you cannot be seen: peep through/into/round: · Bobby peeped around the corner to see if anyone was coming.· We peeped through a crack in the fence and saw Mrs Finley talking to a strange-looking man.
to look quickly at someone or something that you have not seen before, and immediately decide what your opinion of them is: · They opened the door to the room, took one look, and decided to go to another hotel.take one look at: · She took one look at me and said she would not work with me.· The teacher took one look at his homework and told him he would have to redo it.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Diane took a quick peek at herself in the mirror.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
Diane took a quick peek at herself in the mirror.· Dot peeked in when he was out at work.· He peeked in to the sitting-room.· A letter to his wife Abigail told of how he once gathered nerve to peek in on forbidding Catholic worship in Philadelphia.· The route peeks in and out of fir and pine, a gentle grade, just a 450-foot gain over 3 miles.· One day an older black student, Judy Edwards, peeked in at the door about half an hour late.· Standing tiptoe on the mushy lawn, he tapped on the windows and tried to peek in.· We were tucked in the corner and anybody who wanted could peek in or walk in or walk past.
· I could feel the neighbors looking at me, peeking out from behind their Howlett posters.· Rubberneck, the beating stopped, a pause, peeked out between his fingers.· Pieces of the wings, shorn off by the impact, peeked out from under one corner of the tarp.· We have to keep dragging ourselves to our feet to peek out again and again, until we have a clear vision.· I was more interested in Paul, a shy boy who peeked out from under a sheaf of straight black hair.· On extremely dry summers the tops of the old town's buildings are rumoured to peek out from the lake.· Gold, earthen tones peek out from shadows with the help of subtle lighting scheme.
· By morning thick clouds drift over, but the sky between them is deep blue and occasionally the sun peeks through.
VERB· Charcol recommends taking a peek at Stroud & Swindon.· But take a peek: This year is a little different.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1to look quickly at something, or to look at something from behind something else, especially something that you are not supposed to seepeek at/through/into etc- Babur sneaks a look at the policewoman.
- I sneaked a look at my medical report; slow heartbeat, low metabolism.
- I sneaked a look behind as we went off in a cloud of dust.
- Just before we left, I raised up to straighten my coat and sneaked a look at the McLaren girl.
- Men sneak looks all the time!
- Occasionally they sneak glances at the businessmen -- who look back at them in mutual amazement and fear.
- Only the men would sneak glances at her, admiring the shapely figure showing in the plain uniform.
- The chairman sneaks a look at some of the messages on Doreen's card.
Carefully he peeked through the glass window in the door. Paula opened the box and peeked inside. Shut your eyes and don’t peek!► see thesaurus at look2[always + adverb/preposition] if something peeks from somewhere, you can just see a small amount of it: The moon peeked out from behind the clouds.—peek noun [countable]: Diane took a quick peek at herself in the mirror.