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# peek

«peek» in Mova's school dictionary: **to look at something quickly or secretly, often when you…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (peek, peeks, peeked, peeking); noun (a peek)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To peek means to look at something quickly or secretly, often when you should not. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peek/#m1)

2) A peek is a quick, short look. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peek/#m2)

3) To peek out means to just show a little, like the sun peeking out from behind clouds. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peek/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In games like hide-and-seek, the counter must not peek. In stories, a character who peeks at presents or answers shows curiosity or cheating. In tests, peeking at someone else's answers is cheating. Phrases: «take a peek», «no peeking», «peek inside», «sneak peek» (a first look at something new), «peek-a-boo» (a game with babies).

### examples

- Close your eyes and no peeking! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peek/#x1)
- I took a peek at my birthday presents. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peek/#x2)
- The sun peeked out from behind the clouds. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peek/#x3)
- Don't peek at the answers at the back of the book. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peek/#x4)
- The baby laughed when we played peek-a-boo. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peek/#x5)
- The kitten peeked out from under the sofa. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peek/#x6)
- We got a sneak peek of the new playground. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peek/#x7)
- She peeked through the keyhole. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peek/#x8)

### note

Homophones (same sound): «peak» (the top of a mountain, or a cap's front) and «pique» (a feeling of annoyance; «pique your interest»). A common mistake is «sneak peak»; the right spelling is «sneak peek». «Peep» is similar.

### In the corpora

- [Ella in Auckland peeked at her neighbour's spelling test because she hadn't learned the words.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/340-copying-and-peeking-in-tests/1/)
- [Two weeks before his birthday, Ethan in Denver found his presents at the top of Mum's wardrobe and peeked.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/356-peeking-at-presents-diaries-and-letters/0/)
- [Peeking at presents usually spoils the surprise for you, not only for the giver.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/356-peeking-at-presents-diaries-and-letters/19/)
- [A peek is cheating even if you'd have got most of it right; if everyone peeked, tests would mean nothing.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/92-cheating-at-school-copying-and-peeking/7/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «peek» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peek/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.