Peeping Tom
a person who obtains sexual gratification by observing others surreptitiously, especially a man who looks through windows at night.
Origin of Peeping Tom
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use Peeping Tom in a sentence
He had been playing "Peeping Tom" and the ball had caught him squarely upon his woolly crown.
Peggy Stewart at School | Gabrielle E. JacksonNapier himself was too aware of a Peeping-Tom unseemliness in looking in upon these privacies to stand there watching.
The Messenger | Elizabeth RobinsIt remained for "Peeping-Tom" to think of a gas-mask in connection with this scheme.
13 Days | John Alan Lyde Caunter
British Dictionary definitions for Peeping Tom
a man who furtively observes women undressing; voyeur
Origin of Peeping Tom
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for peeping Tom
One who derives pleasure, usually sexual, from secretly spying on others. (See voyeurism.)
Notes for peeping Tom
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with Peeping Tom
A person who secretly watches others, especially for sexual gratification; a voyeur. For example, The police caught a peeping Tom right outside their house. This expression, first recorded in 1796, alludes to the legend of the tailor Tom, the only person to watch the naked Lady Godiva as she rode by and who was struck blind for this sin.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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