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• peacock
  peacock

  noun

  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.
• Peacock
  Peacock

  noun

  Thomas Love, 1785–1866, English poet and novelist.

peacock

¹ American  

[pee-kok] / ˈpiˌkɒk /

noun

• peacocks,
  plural
• peacock
  plural

1. 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.

2. any peafowl.

3. a vain, self-conscious person.

4. Astronomy. Peacock, the constellation Pavo.

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verb (used without object)

• peacocks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• peacocked,
  past participle,  past
• peacocking
  present participle

1. to make a vainglorious display; strut like a peacock.

Peacock ² American  

[pee-kok] / ˈpiˌkɒk /

noun

1. Thomas Love, 1785–1866, English poet and novelist.

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peacock ¹ British  

/ ˈpiːˌkɒk /

noun

1. a male peafowl, having a crested head and a very large fanlike tail marked with blue and green eyelike spots

2. another name for peafowl

3. a vain strutting person

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verb

1. to display (oneself) proudly

2. obsolete to acquire (the best pieces of land) in such a way that the surrounding land is useless to others

Peacock ² British  

/ ˈpiːˌkɒk /

noun

1. Thomas Love. 1785–1866, English novelist and poet, noted for his satirical romances, including Headlong Hall (1816) and Nightmare Abbey (1818)

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peacock Idioms  

1. see proud as a peacock.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• peacockery
  noun
• peacockishness
  noun
• peacockism
  noun
• peahen
  noun
• peacockish
  adjective
• peacocky
  adjective
• peacockishly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• peacock
  plural
• peacocks
  plural

Participles

• peacocking
  present
• peacocked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• peacock
  simple
• peacocks
  simple
• have peacocked
  perfect
• has peacocked
  perfect
• am peacocking
  progressive
• are peacocking
  progressive
• is peacocking
  progressive
• have been peacocking
  perfect progressive
• has been peacocking
  perfect progressive

Past

• peacocked
  simple
• had peacocked
  perfect
• was peacocking
  progressive
• were peacocking
  progressive
• had been peacocking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will peacock
  simple
• will have peacocked
  perfect
• will be peacocking
  progressive
• will have been peacocking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of peacock

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 )

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

peacock Peacock peacocks peacocked peacocking

He doesn’t peacock, he doesn’t preen; he is visibly angry with himself when he doesn’t produce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

From her perch in New Orleans, she has also reported on natural disasters, the big business of Mardi Gras and her neighborhood peacock, Mr. P.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

This week, Rausch’s fellow Traitors, Housewives Candiace Dillard Bassett and Lisa Rinna, get to peacock in a massive crown and, for Rinna, a brooch as bewitching as it is deadly.

From Salon ● Jan. 28, 2026

Fish such as wolf fish, peacock bass, and South American lungfish were especially common, accompanied by reptiles including caimans and turtles, and mammals such as capybaras, pacas, and armadillos.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 30, 2025

“Look at the peacock, Ifem,” he said, gently, as though he sensed her irritation.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Peacock said it was still unknown how long Pearsall had been allegedly recording the lifeguards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Catherine Peacock from the charity KidzKlub in Leeds has organised about 100 Play Streets across her city in the past few years.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

I’m also nearly finished binging the sweet but juicy Peacock show “The Five-Star Weekend,” which is based on the Nantucket-set Elin Hilderbrand novel of the same name.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

NBCUniversal’s streaming platform Peacock, which offers “Jeopardy!” episodes one day after they air on TV, launched “Jeopardy! TODAY,” a daily interactive game for subscribers developed by the Los Angeles-based pop culture gaming company Lil Snack.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Peacock snails came up frequently in my notes, year after year, but they were difficult to find these days.

From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate

To get a sense of the topography, walk 10 minutes from the center of town up to the Citadelle, a fortress where peacocks roam and you’ll have panoramic views over the Gulf of St. Tropez.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Sunset runs amid free-roaming peacocks and ghaf trees in a surprisingly rural area behind the skyscrapers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

On the course, elaborate tombs of the city's past rulers poke through tangled trees that are home to peacocks, troops of monkeys and mongooses.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2025

Gandhi said that peacocks are not typically used for fighting but that there is real reason to be worried for their welfare.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2025

“Anne,” she said, “I think I’m going gaga. What’s the name of that pub with the river terrace and the peacocks? Where is it?”

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

In a choreographic sequence during the final seconds of his program, Malinin peacocked to the fans—and judges—with the kind of daring maneuver that’s more common on snow than ice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

Ultimately, “banter” is nothing more than a buzzword, the 2024 answer to the “sapiosexual” craze where online daters peacocked their degrees by designating their sexual preference as “intellectuals.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2024

Charles’s coronation was a full-color spectacle, showing off the peacocked glory of British tradition and the bells and whistles of 21st-century TV.

From New York Times ● May 6, 2023

The helicopter landed just before 3 p.m. and Mick Jagger, 26 years old, bushy-haired and chewing gum, peacocked onto the pavement.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 21, 2019

Sir Blaise peacocked over the lawn, delicate as Agag.

From The Lady of Loyalty House A Novel by Justin H. (Justin Huntly) McCarthy

No peacocking and no polyester are among the codes junior bankers typically learn by breaking them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

He gives the example of going out for a meal in Lagos and how peacocking is so important.

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2025

The looks are familiar — gold-button blazers, oxfords and rugbys — but with the edge of New York City peacocking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2024

There is a boastfulness and peacocking at times.

From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2023

And inside the durbar hall there was surely never such a splendid scene in history—such a sea of turbans—such glittering of jewels—such a peacocking and swaggering and proud bearing of ancient names!

From Guns of the Gods by Talbot Mundy

Related Words

• bluster
• gloat
• prance
• sashay
• saunter
• strut