the male of the peafowl distinguished by its long, erectile, greenish, iridescent tail coverts that are brilliantly marked with ocellated spots and that can be spread in a fan.
any peafowl.
a vain, self-conscious person.
Astronomy. Peacock, the constellation Pavo.
a male peafowl, having a crested head and a very large fanlike tail marked with blue and green eyelike spots
another name for peafowl
a vain strutting person
to display (oneself) proudly
obsolete to acquire (the best pieces of land) in such a way that the surrounding land is useless to others
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English pecok, pocok equivalent to pe- ( Old English pēa “peafowl,” from Latin pāvōn-, stem of pavō peacock ( def. ) ) + cok ( Old English coc cock 1 )
A peacock is a shiny blue bird who fans out his large colorful iridescent tail feathers, especially when he’s flirting with the peahens. A peacock is a male peafowl. A male peacock is more flamboyant than his female counterpart — he’s the one with those long brilliant tail feathers marked with eye-like designs. If a man (a human!) dresses overly flashy, he’s “peacocking.” The writer Flannery O’ Connor was famous for having peacocks strut around her farm in Georgia. Peacocks also have a loud call that sounds almost like a human cry. The word peacock has many etymological influences, and it may ultimately come from the Tamil tokei.
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NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, has struggled to get traction.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026
In recent years Peacock has struggled with profitability and has far fewer subscribers than many of its rivals.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026
Bravo remains a life boat on the sinking ship that is the cable network business and is a key content provider to Peacock.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026
Earlier this month, Peacock axed Oregon-based beauty technician Vasana Montgomery just days after it announced its slate of Islanders for the show’s eighth season.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026
I wanted to seem like someone destined to perform as the Peacock in The Nutcracker.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
