Link Centre Dictionary

pet

UK/pɛt/ US/pʰɛt/ common informal
noun (4) verb (2) adjective (1)

noun

1.
2.
3.

a fit of petulance or sulkiness (especially at what is felt to be a slight)

4.

verb

1.

stroke or caress gently

  • “pet the lamb”
2.

stroke or caress in an erotic manner, as during lovemaking

adjective

1.

preferred above all others and treated with partiality

  • “the favored child”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

Originally northern dialectal, from Scots pet (“an animal that has been tamed and is kept as a pet; a darling or favourite; a petted or spoiled child”), probably from Scottish Gaelic peata (“pet, tamed animal, spoiled child”), from Middle Irish petta, peta (“pet, lap-dog”), of uncertain origin, possibly from a pre-Indo-European substrate. Compare also peat (“pet, darling, woman”), which is likely not related. The verb is derived from the noun.

Phrases

  • crazy as a pet coon
  • digital pet
  • pet carrier
  • pet cemetery
  • pet cone
  • pet door
  • pet flap
  • pet form
  • pet hate
  • pet hotel
  • pet name
  • pet peeve

Related words

Word family

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.