Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
Synonyms

pe

1 American  
[pay] / peɪ /
Or peh

noun

  1. the 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

  2. either of the consonant sounds represented by this letter.


PE 2 American  

abbreviation

  1. Prince Edward Island, Canada (approved for postal use).

  2. Biology, Ecology. possibly extinct.


p/e 3 American  
Or P/E,

abbreviation

  1. price-earnings ratio.


p.e. 4 American  
Or P.E.

abbreviation

  1. printer's error.


P.E. 5 American  

abbreviation

  1. Petroleum Engineer.

  2. physical education.

  3. Presiding Elder.

  4. Statistics. probable error.

  5. Professional Engineer.

  6. Protestant Episcopal.


PE 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. physical education

  2. potential energy

  3. Presiding Elder

  4. (esp in postal addresses) Prince Edward Island (Canadian Province)

  5. Also: p.e. printer's error

  6. statistics probable error

  7. Protestant Episcopal

  8. (in South Africa) Port Elizabeth

  9. Peru (international car registration)

"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

pe 2 British  
/ peɪ, pe /

noun

  1. the 17th letter in the Hebrew alphabet (פ or, at the end of a word, ף) transliterated as p or, when final, ph

"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

pe 3 British  

abbreviation

  1. Peru

"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

Etymology

Origin of pe

1895–1900; < Hebrew pē, akin to peh mouth


Vocabulary lists containing pe

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Italy was the latest victim of what local media have taken to calling Jagger's "pe frio" — a term describing the bad luck that he brings teams that translates literally as "cold foot."

From US News ● Jun. 25, 2014

Italy was the latest victim of what local media have taken to calling Jagger's "pe frio", a term describing the bad luck that he brings teams.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 24, 2014

At Neah Bay the average was 1.0 fish pe rod, and just over half the catch was coho.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2010

Some people call us pe dantic; perhaps we are.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Ah, montame!" said the baron, in his turn, with a still lower bow; "id vould pe fery bretty in any room mit you."

From Fr?d?rique; vol. 1 by Charles Paul de Kock

Only 11% of these doctors viewed PE ownership as being “positive or somewhat positive.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026

Which may explain the newest addition to the slop lexicon: PE, or private-equity, slop.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

“Hedge funds, PE structures, there’s a significant amount of earnings,” said Dianne Mehany of accounting firm EY, who advises high-net-worth clients.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Only rather than asking after lost jumpers and what day PE is, these groups might be used to try to parent long-distance.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

If he sees me in my PE clothes, I will never have a chance with him.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

On a trailing p/e basis, the benchmark index is at 25.7 times earnings compared with an average of 15 since 1900.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026

Today they are $27, with a p/e ratio of 16, barely above the average.

From Economist ● Jun. 26, 2014

Referring to the company’s price to earnings ratio, he says Sirius is “moving into a decent p/e due to recent dividend payments.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2014

If a company's share price was £10 and its most recent annual earnings were 80p per share, its p/e ratio would be 12.5.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 13, 2012

The average p/e ratio for the past 20 years is 20.4.

From BusinessWeek ● Jul. 6, 2010

The kids racing down the linoleum hallway take Spanish, art, p.e. and government here.

From Time Magazine Archive

And so the prospect of watching an eight-hour adaptation of the novel stretched out before me like a five-year semester in which every class was P.E.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

“I remember leaving P.E. after playing pickleball, heading to soccer practice and honestly feeling kind of bored,” Leeds recalled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2026

To turn around the Van Nuys High football program, coach Ken Osorio started walking around campus, visiting P.E. classes and attending school events looking for students to join his team.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2025

Experience: Before joining McKenna’s staff recently, served variously at Dorsey High School since 1998 as a P.E. and psychology teacher, girls’ basketball head coach, athletic director and dean of students.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2024

The only time I’ve ever seen him run for the sake of running is when we had to do the timed mile in P.E. last fall.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 14,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training