peekaboo

[ peek-uh-boo ]

noun

1. Also called bo-peep. a game played by or with very young children, typically in which one covers the face or hides and then suddenly uncovers the face or reappears, calling “Peekaboo!”

adjective

1. Clothing.
   1. decorated with openwork.
   2. made of a sheer and revealing material, as some blouses for women.
2. appearing briefly and then vanishing, or promising to appear but failing to do so:

   the fluctuating response of the stock market to a peekaboo economic recovery.

peekaboo

/ ˈpiːkəˌbuː /

noun

1. a game for young children, in which one person hides his face and suddenly reveals it and cries "peekaboo."

adjective

1. (of a garment) made of fabric that is almost transparent or patterned with small holes

Word History and Origins

Origin of peekaboo¹

1590–1600; peek + -a- connective + boo ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of peekaboo¹

C16: from peek + boo

Example Sentences

These guys will “move them up behind their back into view in a kind of a peekaboo display,” Morehouse says.

From Science News For Students

We play peekaboo with the toddler in the seat ahead of us, and we close our eyes and rest, feeling safe and secure enough to dream among strangers.

From Washington Post

These images of schoolgirl skirts and peekaboo buttock outlines are just the most open, unapologetic manifestation of that.

From The Daily Beast

If you wore a peekaboo waist she couldn't see through you any easier.

From Project Gutenberg