peer of the realm

American  

noun

peers of the realm plural

1. any of a class of peers in Great Britain and Ireland entitled by heredity to sit in the House of Lords.

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peer of the realm British  

noun

1. (in Great Britain and Northern Ireland) any member of the nobility entitled to sit in the House of Lords

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• peers of the realm
  plural

Etymology

Origin of peer of the realm

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

peer of the realm

“You read me a lesson? I? A peer of the realm? And you, from the place where you come from?”

From The Guardian ● Feb. 22, 2020

He might have been a peer of the realm, but he was a Jewish guy whose family had moved from Odessa to Shoreditch when he was a kid.

From Slate ● May 29, 2018

Tall, gaunt and slightly ungainly, in his snakeskin shoes, chunky rings and rakishly well-tailored suits, Cave resembles nothing so much as a postmillennial hybrid of bookie and peer of the realm.

From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2014

These protesters did not think the princess should be on her way to see some stuffy Chekhov drama by a peer of the realm.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 3, 2010

In 1587 the title of duke and peer of the realm was granted to it, but in the succeeding century it became extinct.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 8 "Haller, Albrecht" to "Harmonium" by Various