From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpeeragepeer‧age /ˈpɪərɪdʒ $ ˈpɪr-/ noun 1 → the peerage2 [countable]PG the rank of a British peer
Examples from the Corpus
peerage• In February 1921 he gave up office and soon afterwards he accepted a peerage and retired from active politics.• Mo Mowlam, the retiring Cabinet Office minister, is believed to have refused a peerage.• Members of the House of Lords sat by virtue of birth, holding hereditary peerages.• I earn my first of these by commenting that there were a few raised eyebrows when his peerage was announced last June.• With union, new peerages came into being.• Both acts are morally wrong - Edward should not have abused his divine right and curried favour by dishing out peerages.• Prior to union, each kingdom had its own peerage. 