From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpeerpeer1 /pɪə $ pɪr/ ●●○ noun [countable] 1 [usually plural]PG formal your peers are the people who are the same age as you, or who have the same type of job, social class etc American children did less well in math than their peers in Japan. Staff members are trained by their peers. → peer group, peer pressure2 a member of the British nobility → House of Lords, peerage → life peer
Examples from the Corpus
peer• The Government is to reintroduce a bill curbing the right to jury trial, which has twice been thrown out by peers.• Few of his peers scoffed, but even fewer followed his example of actually taking it on the course.• The respect of his peers in the research community is very important to him.• It gives evidence of the approval of peers and keeps one in contact with the traditions of the past.• How was I spending my time on peer relationships?• At about three years old, children begin to take an interest in their peers.• Everyone wants to be successful in the eyes of their peers.• Six were Etonians, three were peers, and another three were knights or baronets.• So we put together a list of students who were peer mentors.• Relationships with peers, not superiors, seemed the developmental relationships that mattered.• The jury system gives you the basic right to be judged by your peers.peerpeer2 ●●○ verb [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] PGto look very carefully at something, especially because you are having difficulty seeing it He was peering through the wet windscreen at the cars ahead. Philippa peered into the darkness.► see thesaurus at look→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
peer• Two heads swivelled to peer at her, and she recognized the reporters from the pub.• She adjusted her glasses and peered at the man.• I slowed, turning to peer at the site with an eerie feeling of detachment.• Lok peered at the stick and the lump of bone and the small eyes in the bone things over the face.• Mattie grunted abstractedly, totally engrossed in peering at the various plastic containers and bowls in the refrigerator.• Watch any game in a crucial situation and you will see the catcher peering into his dugout before calling each pitch.• Roger peered into the dark corridor to see what was making the noise.• Having stopped the car, feeling pleasantly lost, he peered through the half-dark.• Yanto crouched down and peered under the wagon.From Longman Business Dictionarypeerpeer /pɪəpɪr/ noun [countable usually plural]1a company or product that is similar to the one you are talking aboutHe believes the company is undervalued relative to its peers.2someone who is the same age or has the same job, social position etc as the person you are talking aboutStaff members are trained by their peers.Origin peer1 (1200-1300) Old French per, from Latin par “equal”; → PAR peer2 (1500-1600) Perhaps from appear 