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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

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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 )

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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

And the obsession with the peacock perfume wasn't going anywhere.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

The en suite bathroom is as flamboyant as they come, with stars, peacock feathers, and graphic prints painted across the ceiling, purple walls, and double vanity.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

“The peacock was just standing in front of his truck,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

Gina Davis, a Pasadena schoolteacher, was worried when she learned that a peacock who had lived in her neighborhood for years was found disoriented and wouldn’t eat or drink.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

One day, Ifemelu saw the male peacock dance, its feathers fanned out in a giant halo.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Two other streaming series, “Crystal Lake” on Peacock and “Carrie” on Prime Video, place two of the horror genre’s most famous scary mothers in new contexts.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

USC’s matchup with Oregon drew the largest audience of its season to date, with 5 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Peacock, Comcast’s streaming service, recorded 34% revenue growth to $1.82 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

UK Government sports minister Stephanie Peacock echoed those comments, adding: "Our £32m will fund the races and a lasting legacy, so the public feel the benefits long after the last rider crosses the line."

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

The yacht had been sold to MoMo B. ChaCha through various channels because it was a symbol of wicked American excess, which The Peacock publicly disdained.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

“The house was small, so we built onto it to add a kitchen. We use the barns as a sanctuary for rescued horses, ducks, chickens, peacocks, goats, and other animals,” she went on.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 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

Around 40 peacocks now live in the area, and 15 come to the hotel for food on a daily basis, said Goorwitch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2025

Now she awoke to the sound of the peacocks, and got out of bed, with the shape of her day familiar and her routines unthinking.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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

Nothing about the way that pair peacocked their way around Augusta National Golf Club during Saturday’s third round indicated they have any intention of allowing those behind them in on their personal tournament.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 7, 2018

"Aren't we having the time of our life?" exclaimed Rosamond, as she peacocked about, gazing over her shoulder at her long court train.

From Patty in Paris by Carolyn Wells

But the filmmakers are more than just passive observers of an extroverted intellectual peacocking while the light is dying.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Inevitably, the group’s career cooled throughout the ’90s and early 2000s as peacocking hard rock gave way to grunge and pop-punk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2024

The Guardian's Rebecca Nicholson described it as "peacocking, mesmerising television" in her four-star review, but did warn the show was "demanding drama, to be approached with care and focus".

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2024

It was a novel turn for an artist venerated for his dexterity, his peacocking, his exuberance, his progressivism.

From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2024

It was a full-dress day, and the Montenegrins never let slip an occasion for peacocking.

From Twenty Years Of Balkan Tangle by M. E. (Mary Edith) Durham

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