peer

Plural: peers

Noun

a person who is of equal standing with another in a group
a nobleman (duke or marquis or earl or viscount or baron) who is a member of the British peerage
A look; a glance.
Somebody who is, or something that is, at a level or of a value equal (to that of something else).
Someone who is approximately the same age (as someone else).
A noble with a title, i.e., a peerage, and in times past, with certain rights and privileges not enjoyed by commoners.
A comrade; a companion; an associate.
Someone who pees, someone who urinates.

Verb

Verb Forms: peered, peering, peers

To look narrowly or searchingly, as if trying to discern something.
look searchingly
- "We peered into the back of the shop to see whether a salesman was around"
To look with difficulty, or as if searching for something.
To come in sight; to appear.
To make equal in rank.
To carry communications traffic terminating on one's own network on an equivalency basis to and from another network, usually without charge or payment. Contrast with transit where one pays another network provider to carry one's traffic.

Examples

a peer of the realm
He had to PEER closely at the Scrabble board to spot any potential seven-letter words.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English peren, pyren, piren (“to peer, gaze”), perhaps from Old English *pȳran (“to look, peer”), from Proto-West Germanic *pūrijan (“to look”), related to Saterland Frisian pierje (“to look”), Dutch Low Saxon piren (“to look”), West Flemish pieren (“to look with narrowed eyes, squint at”), Dutch pieren (“to look closely at, examine”), Middle English pouren (“to gaze, look closely”), English pore (“to study meticulously”). Compare also West Frisian pluere (“to peer”), Dutch pluren (“to gaze squintingly”), German Low German plieren (“to blink”), Danish plire (“to peer”), Swedish plira, blira (“to peer”), and thence ultimately related to to the root of English blear.
The sense meaning "to be visible" is perhaps from a shortening of appear.

Synonyms

compeer, equal, match

Scrabble Score: 6

peer: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
peer: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
peer: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 7

peer: valid Words With Friends Word