What does "peter" mean?
radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter P.
Peter
/ˈpiːtə/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter P.
- Grammar: peter is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: apostle, disciple, dwindle, evangelist.
- Useful contrasts: expand, grow, increase.
- Usage evidence: Peter was an altruistic video game player; he would give items to people who needed them, rather than selling them for personal profit.
How to use "peter"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "peter" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "peter" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "peter" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "peter" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "peter" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "apostle" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "peter", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter P.
- 2 The penis. slang
"You smile, act polite, shake their hands, then cut off their peters and put them in your pocket.” “Yes, Mr. President,” answered O'Brien."
- 3 A safe. UK, slang
"It used to be simple to 'crack a peter'. Safe-breaking (blowing or cracking a 'peter') in the past three or four years shows that the expert cracksman knows his job."
- 4 A prison cell. UK, slang
"[…] the ceremony of 'slopping out', breakfast, across to the main library from nine till half-past eleven, back to my peter for the mid-day meal and two hours' break, then the library again till five o'clock when tea was brought round and the cell door locked for the night."
Verb
- 1 Chiefly followed by out: originally (mining), of a vein of ore: to be depleted of ore; now (generally), to diminish to nothing; to dwindle, to trail off. intransitive
"I found a veinlet about 15 in. wide and very rich in gold. Trenching along its outcrop showed that it extended about 100 ft. and then pinched out altogether. A winze sunk on the veinlet showed that it "petered out" entirely at 25 or 30 ft."
- 2 Synonym of blue peter; to call for trump by throwing away a high card while holding a lower one. intransitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A male given name from Ancient Greek. countable, uncountable
"She knew of no Peter, and yet he was here and there in John and Michael's minds, while Wendy's began to be scrawled all over with him. The name stood out in bolder letters than any of the other words, and as Mrs Darling gazed she felt that it had an oddly cocky appearance."
- 2 The leading Apostle in the New Testament: Saint Peter. countable, uncountable
- 3 The epistles of Peter in the New Testament of the Bible, 1 Peter and 2 Peter attributed to St. Peter. countable, uncountable
- 4 A surname originating as a patronymic. countable, uncountable
- 5 A census-designated place in Cache County, Utah, United States, named after Peter Maughan. countable, uncountable
Example
"Peter was an altruistic video game player; he would give items to people who needed them, rather than selling them for personal profit."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "peter"?
Common synonyms include: apostle, disciple, dwindle, evangelist, fade, father.
How do you use "peter" in a sentence?
Peter was an altruistic video game player; he would give items to people who needed them, rather than selling them for personal profit.
How do you pronounce "peter"?
Pronounced /ˈpiːtə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English Peter, from Old English Petrus, from Latin Petrus, from Ancient Greek Πέτρος (Pétros), from πέτρος (pétros, “stone, rock”). Doublet of Pedro, Piers, and Boutros.
Etymology 2
US, 1902, presumably from shared initial pe-. Compare the use of other men’s names as slang terms for the penis, e.g., dick, willy, johnson, John Thomas, etc.
Etymology 3
Unknown. Attested from the 18th century. The Canting Academy defines peeter as “A portmantle”; Green’s Dictionary of Slang list a variety of uses for peter – including trunk or portmanteau – in thieves’ cant in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The OED suggests that it may be related to St. Peter being the holder of the keys to God's Kingdom.
Etymology 4
Unknown; the following etymologies have been suggested: * From peter (“to stop (doing or saying something)”) (slang, obsolete, rare). * Since the word was first used in mining contexts, either: ** from French péter (“to explode; to break wind, fart”) (slang), from pet (“emission of digestive gases from the anus, flatus, fart”) (slang), from Latin pēditum (“flatus, fart”), from pēdō (“to break wind, fart”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pesd- (“to break wind softly”), probably imitative; or ** from (salt)peter, a variant of saltpetre (“potassium nitrate”) (the key ingredient in gunpowder), from Middle English salpeter, salpetre [and other forms] with the first element influenced by salt, from Old French salpetre (modern French salpêtre), from Medieval Latin salpetra, from Latin sāl petrae (literally “salt of stone”) (as potassium nitrate occurs encrusted on some stones), from sāl (“salt”) + petrae (the nominative or vocative plural of petra (“rock; stone”), from Ancient Greek πέτρᾱ (pétrā, “rock formation; stone”)).
Etymology 5
Clipping of blue peter (“play a high card to call for trump”). See further etymology there.