peeve

/piv/

/piv/

Other forms: peeved; peeves; peeving

A peeve is something that really annoys you, like waiting in a long line or dropping a can on your toe because someone left it on the counter. Again. It's also a word for describing your resulting mood: peeved.

You probably know the term "pet peeve," which is something that may not bother everyone, but particularly irritates you. Your pet peeve might be misspelled words on signs, mismatched socks, or close talkers. Peeve is also a verb, meaning "irritate." The adjective peevish, for “silly, perverse” came first, in the fourteenth century.

Definitions of peeve

1. noun

   an annoyed or irritated mood
   type of:

   humor, humour, mood, temper

   a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
2. verb

   cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful
   type of:

   annoy, bother, chafe, devil, get at, get to, gravel, irritate, nark, nettle, rag, rile, vex

   cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations