peter

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈpiːtə/ 🇺🇸 /ˈpiːtɜr/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    A man's given name, derived from the Greek 'Petros' meaning 'rock' or 'stone'.; (Slang, vulgar) The male genital organ; penis.; (British slang) A prison cell or a safe, especially one that is difficult to break into.; (Slang) A type of small explosive charge used in mining or demolition.
  2. verb
    To diminish gradually and come to an end; to fade away, usually used with 'out'.; (Slang, vulgar) To perform oral sex on a male.
  3. noun
    (Archaic, slang) A type of small cannon or mortar.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: peters 3rd sing.: peters Past: petered Past part.: petered Pres part.: petering

Collocations

peter outpeter out completelygradually peter out

Synonyms

dwindlediminishfadetaper offfizzle outwane

Antonyms

increasesurgegrow

Commonly confused

Peter
EN: 'Peter' (capitalized) is a proper name; 'peter' (lowercase) is a verb meaning to diminish gradually, or British slang for a prison cell/safe.
patter
EN: 'patter' means rapid talk or a repeated sound; 'peter' means to gradually diminish (usually with 'out').

Spelling tips

EN: Ensure lowercase 'p' when using the verb 'peter out'; capitalizing it makes it the proper name 'Peter'. The verb is almost always used with the particle 'out'.

💬 Examples

  1. Peter was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.

  2. The joke relied on a crude reference to his peter.

  3. The burglars spent hours trying to crack the peter.

  4. The miners set a peter to blast through the rock face.

  5. The storm finally petered out by midnight.

  6. The crude joke implied what she had done to peter him.

  7. The soldiers loaded the peter with a small charge of gunpowder.