pet peeve

noun

Synonyms of pet peeve
: a frequent subject of complaint

Examples of pet peeve in a Sentence

One of my biggest pet peeves is people driving too slowly on the highway.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But this remains a parks pet peeve. — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 May 2026 One of my pet peeves with my iPad mini is its lack of Face ID. — Lance Whitney, PC Magazine, 14 Mar. 2026 My pet peeve is definitely houses without books. — Katie Schultz, Architectural Digest, 19 May 2026 Brightly colored plastic florals are one of Jones's biggest pet peeves. — Sarah Lyon, The Spruce, 23 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for pet peeve

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pet peeve was in 1917

Rhymes for pet peeve

See All Rhymes for pet peeve

Browse Nearby Words

Petőfi
pet peeve
petr-
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pet peeve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pet%20peeve. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on pet peeve

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for pet peeve

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All