pet peeve

American  

[pet peev] / ˈpɛt ˈpiv /

noun

pet peeves plural

1. a particular and often continual annoyance; personal bugbear.

   This train service is one of my pet peeves.

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pet peeve Idioms  

1. A particular or recurring source of irritation, as in My pet peeve is that neighbor's cat running through my herb garden. [Early 1900s]

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pet peeves
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pet peeve

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pet peeve

He says he believes the system has improved access to university for disadvantaged students, and that it's a "pet peeve" to hear discussions of it being a "crippling loan", or like a mortgage.

From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026

Ping [email protected] with the word or phrase, and why it’s your pet peeve, and we might circle back and include it in a future story.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026

My current pet peeve is everyone on social media posting linear ratings and comparing them to the season before.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025

“It’s a pet peeve with many people,” he told me.

From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2025

This is how I find out that Miss McDaniels has yet another pet peeve besides lateness, wasting valuable time, and utter nonsense.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina