peep

A single word or sound from someone. That's it—no one is getting dessert, and I don't want to hear another peep about it. There wasn't another peep from the rest of the class after I sent Jonathan to detention.

A single word or sound from one. That's it—no one is getting dessert, and I don't want to hear another peep out of any of you. There wasn't another peep out of anyone after I sent Jonathan to detention.

To hear a single word or sound from someone. Often used in the negative. I barely heard a peep out of the other students after I sent Jonathan to detention. Amy: "Hi Samantha, thank you for watching the kids for us. How were they?" Samantha: "They were great. I put them to bed at 8 and haven't heard a peep from them since!"

Not a single word or sound from someone. Amy: "Hi Samantha, thank you for watching the kids for us. How were they?" Samantha: "They were great. I put them to bed at 8, and there hasn't been a peep out of them since!" There wasn't a peep from the students for the rest of the class after I sent Jonathan to detention.

To get a quick, cursory, often sneaky or surreptitious look at someone or something. I peeped at the boss's computer, and it looks like there's a round of layoffs on the way. Campus guards caught him trying to peep at the women getting changed in their locker rooms.

To peer, glimpse, or glance in(to something) quickly, shyly, or inconspicuously. The secretary peeped in and disappeared just as quickly when she realized people were in the room. He peeped into the box and saw that his wife had gotten him a new watch for Christmas.

A pornographic show in which a video or live performance of a nude or partially clothed woman is exhibited in a coin-operated booth, with a small peephole through which the customer looks. The actor's career tanked pretty hard after he was caught frequenting peep shows in the docks.

A person (typically referring to a man) who secretly watches people undressing or engaging in sex without their consent. Unless you want to be a target for peeping Toms, you better get curtains for your bedroom windows soon.

slang To very carefully inspect, scrutinize, and correct the resolution, clarity, and quality of digital images or photographs. When I started getting into digital photography, I'll admit that I that I focused a bit too much on pixel peeping for a while. Later on though, I became less obsessive over technical quality and learned to appreciate well-composed photographs.

slang The act, habit, or practice of being particularly or overly critical of or sensitive to the resolution, clarity, and quality of digital images or photographs. When I started getting into digital photography, I'll admit that I that I focused a bit too much on pixel peeping for a while. Later on though, I became less obsessive over technical quality and learned to appreciate well-composed photographs in their own right.

Fig. to get some sort of a response from someone; to hear the smallest word from someone. (Usually in the negative.) I don't want to hear another peep out of you. I didn't know they were there. I didn't hear a peep out of them.

a quick look at someone or something. (*Typically: have ~; take ~.) Have a peep into the refrigerator and see if we need any milk. I took a peep at the comet through the telescope.

to get a glimpse of someone or something, as if looking through a hole. I peeped at Tom through the Venetian blinds. Look in the microscope and peep at this bacterium.

to get a quick look into something, as through a hole in the wall or something similar. I peeped into the oven to see what was cooking for dinner. She opened the oven door and peeped in.

to sneak a glimpse of someone or something out of something, as through a hole. A little mouse peeped out of its hole at the bright lights in the room. Johnny, hiding in the closet, peeped out at the guests through the partly opened door.

to raise up and sneak a glance over some barrier; to look over the top of something. The child peeped over the wall to get a look at the yard next door. Grandfather peeped over his glasses to look at the television set for a moment.

to take a quick glance through something, such as a hole, telescope, etc. Sam peeped through the keyhole and saw that the room was dark. Peep through the telescope and have a look at the moon!

to take a quick little glance under something. Would you please peep under the table and see if my shoes are there? Dave peeped under the bed, looking for the cat.

Hear the slightest noise from, as in I don't want to hear another peep out of those children. This expression is often used negatively, as in I didn't hear another peep out of them. [c. 1900]

A person who secretly watches others, especially for sexual gratification; a voyeur. For example, The police caught a peeping Tom right outside their house. This expression, first recorded in 1796, alludes to the legend of the tailor Tom, the only person to watch the naked Lady Godiva as she rode by and who was struck blind for this sin.

A person who secretly watches others, especially for sexual gratification. This term, first recorded in 1796, alludes to the legend of tailor Tom, the only one to watch the naked Lady Godiva as she rode by and who was struck blind for doing so. Many localities have “peeping Tom laws,” ordinances usually based on principles of invading privacy. The traditional peeping Tom involves a man peering through a window into a private dwelling, but today’s advanced technology may involve a spy camera, telescope, or hidden recording equipment observing someone remotely. The Athens Banner-Herald reported police were looking for a peeping Tom who spied on a fifteen-year-old girl, standing on a five-gallon bucket to peep through a crack in the girl’s mini-blinds (July 26, 2010). The British Sunday Mirror reported a case of a landlord spying on girl tenants in their bathroom via sophisticated recording equipment that taped all their actions (August 16, 1998).

A short soft-core porn exhibition. To enjoy “forbidden” glimpses of naked female flesh, a man went to an arcade in a sleazy neighborhood, paid his dime or quarter, entered a booth, and stared through a peep hole at a partially or fully unclothed woman. The “show,” which lasted for no more than five or ten minutes, began when a shade or other obstruction over the peep hole was raised and ended when it was lowered. Instead of “live models,” some peep shows featured short films shown on individual viewing machines. Peep shows became less and less commercially viable as movie houses (and now the Internet) showed more explicit fare.