peer review

American  

noun

1. evaluation of a person's work or performance by a group of people in the same occupation, profession, or industry.

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peer review British  

noun

1. the evaluation by fellow specialists of research that someone has done in order to assess its suitability for publication or further development

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• peer-reviewed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of peer review

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Modern prepublication peer review became common in the mid-20th century.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

The purpose is to avoid procedural traps that can prevent legitimate criticism from being published and to recover what peer review was supposed to be: serious, good-faith analysis by experts seeking clarity and truth.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

More recently, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute agreed to pay $15 million to resolve allegations of misrepresentation of images or data that passed through peer review.

From Slate • May 3, 2026

There are other reforms worth testing: more open peer review, better data availability checks, and stronger triage to screen out low-quality submissions before they consume reviewer time.

From Slate • May 3, 2026

Privately held knowledge is not really scientific knowledge at all because it has not survived the test of peer review.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton