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peekaboo

[peek-uh-boo] /ˈpik əˌbu/
noun
1.
Also called bo-peep. a game played by or with very young children, typically in which one covers the face or hides and then suddenly uncovers the face or reappears, calling “Peekaboo!”.
adjective
2.
Clothing.
  1. decorated with openwork.
  2. made of a sheer and revealing material, as some blouses for women.
3.
appearing briefly and then vanishing, or promising to appear but failing to do so:
the fluctuating response of the stock market to a peekaboo economic recovery.
Origin of peekaboo
1590-1600
1590-1600; peek + -a- connective + boo1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018.
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Examples from the Web for peekaboo
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples

  • If you wore a peekaboo waist she couldn't see through you any easier.

    Cobb's Anatomy Irvin S. Cobb
British Dictionary definitions for peekaboo

peekaboo

/ˈpiːkəˌbuː/
noun
1.
a game for young children, in which one person hides his face and suddenly reveals it and cries "peekaboo."
adjective
2.
(of a garment) made of fabric that is almost transparent or patterned with small holes
Word Origin
C16: from peek + boo
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for peekaboo
n.

also peek-a-boo, as a children's game attested from 1590s; as an adjective meaning "see-through, open," it dates from 1895. From peek (v.) + boo.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang definitions & phrases for peekaboo

peekaboo

adjective

Made of a sheer fabric or decorated with holes; see-through (1895+)

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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16
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