a pin of wood or other material driven or fitted into something, as to fasten parts together, to hang things on, to make fast a rope or string on, to stop a hole, or to mark some point.
Informal. a leg, either real or wooden.
still on his pegs at 99.
a notch or degree.
to come down a peg.
an occasion, basis, or reason.
a peg to hang a grievance on.
Music. Also a pin of wood or metal in the neck of a stringed instrument that may be turned in its socket to adjust a string's tension.
Informal. a throw, especially in baseball.
The peg to the plate was late.
Economics. the level at which some price, exchange rate, etc., is set.
British, Indian English. an alcoholic drink, especially a whiskey or brandy and soda.
British. clothespin.
to drive or insert a peg into.
to fasten with or as with pegs.
to mark with pegs.
to strike or pierce with or as with a peg.
to keep (the commodity price, exchange rate, etc.) at a set level, as by manipulation or law.
Informal. to throw (a ball).
Journalism. to base (an article, feature story, etc.) upon; justify by (usually followed byon ).
The feature on the chief of police was pegged on the riots.
Informal. to identify.
to peg someone as a good prospect.
to work or continue persistently or energetically.
to peg away at a homework assignment.
Informal. to throw a ball.
Croquet. to strike a peg, as in completing a game.
a small cylindrical pin or dowel, sometimes slightly tapered, used to join two parts together
a pin pushed or driven into a surface: used to mark scores, define limits, support coats, etc
music any of several pins passing through the head ( peg box ) of a stringed instrument, which can be turned so as to tune strings wound around them See also pin
US and Canadian equivalent: clothespin. Also called: clothes peg. a split or hinged pin for fastening wet clothes to a line to dry
informal a person's leg
dialect a tooth
a small drink of wine or spirits, esp of brandy or whisky and soda
an opportunity or pretext for doing something
a peg on which to hang a theory
a mountaineering piton
croquet a post that a player's ball must strike to win the game
angling a fishing station allotted to an angler in a competition, marked by a peg in the ground
informal a level of self-esteem, importance, etc (esp in the phrases bring or take down a peg )
informal See peg leg
(of clothes) ready to wear, as opposed to tailor-made
(tr) to knock or insert a peg into or pierce with a peg
to secure with pegs
to peg a tent
mountaineering to insert or use pitons
(tr) to mark (a score) with pegs, as in some card games
informal (tr) to aim and throw (missiles) at a target
(intr; foll by away, along, etc) to work steadily
he pegged away at his job for years
(tr) to stabilize (the price of a commodity, an exchange rate, etc) by legislation or market operations
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English pegge (noun), peggen (verb), from Middle Dutch
A peg is a bolt or pin that holds something in place or marks a location. When you use peg as a verb, it means to identify someone or something: "I pegged you as a word lover, the first time I laid eyes on you." A coat rack might consist of a line of wooden pegs, and you might also secure a tent by driving metal pegs into the ground to hold it there. When you fasten or pierce something with a peg, you can say you peg it. Informally, if you peg a person, you make a judgment about them: "I'd peg him as a messy housekeeper based on the way his dorm room looks."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
NBC News reported that, according to internal estimates by the Defense Department peg the amount at $80 billion to $100 billion.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Root left a note on Stokes' peg in the dressing room which said: "Do it your way".
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Musk and SpaceX see “the largest total addressable market in human history,” which they peg at $28.5 trillion, with the vast majority coming from AI infrastructure, advertising, and “enterprise applications.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
The Genius Act provides regulators with a robust arsenal of tools to ensure that stablecoins maintain their one-to-one peg.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
“Es there a chance, friend Schiem, that Oi moit buy a foin wee peg from yeh? Moi coosin and Oi messed our danner today.....”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Peg Ginsberg recalls squad cars speeding past her Main Street watercolor studio the day the groups swarmed the facility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
“When Liam was taken, we had this devastating loss,” Valley View teacher Peg Nelson said.
From Salon ● Mar. 2, 2026
"The labor market came in a little bit better than I came to expect over the last few months," he told The Peg, a Substack page run by journalist Izabella Kaminska.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
Or is Peg Leg coming back for revenge?
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026
In spite of this, he still loved Peg.
From Superwomen by Terhune, Albert Payson
In a note, Zhang pegs the new support level for bitcoin as low as $55,000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s survey pegs the decline at about 17.5 percent within city limits during that period.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026
Forbes pegs her net worth at roughly $1.9 billion.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
I thought of putting Rogers on the left instead of Anthony Gordon, but I'm wary of slightly square pegs in round holes at a World Cup.
From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026
They hung their jackets on the row of pegs beside the front door.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
Sanders pegged voter disaffection on the increasing difficulty and cost of living in the United States.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
It pegged the band, in its members' own words, as "the queer joy mini-skirt rollerblade, external" crew - but their music has always dug deeper than that.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Morgan’s estimated fair value for July, which it pegged at $87, according to strategists at the investment bank led by Natasha Kaneva.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
The case is important because Imperial County has pegged its future to lithium, a mineral critical for electric car batteries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Wouldn’t have pegged you for a billiards man,” he says.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields jumped more than five basis points in overnight trading, pegging the paper at 4.535%, the highest in nearly a year.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
Yap maintains a positive view on the Malaysian oil and gas sector, pegging Keyfield and Perdana Petroleum as its top picks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Nvidia, meanwhile, edged 0.2% higher to $199.99 each, pegging its market cap at just over $4.86 trillion.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
Some investors are pegging DeepSeek’s worth to its long-awaited next-generation AI model, some of the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
She described a plan for treatment, pegging some hope to what the results could be, but I was too overwhelmed to note the details.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
