peerless
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of peerless
First recorded in 1275–1325, peerless is from the Middle English word pereles. See peer 2, -less
Explanation
Do you ever feel like one of a kind? Then maybe you are peerless, a word for someone (or something) unique, excellent, and superior. Peerless is a variation of peer — a word for folks in the same boat as you, or at least the same class. A teacher's peers are other teachers, but if she's a much better teacher than anyone, you could call her a peerless teacher. One of the many compliments given to Michael Jordan is that he was peerless. Amazing, one-of-a-kind people like Picasso, Gandhi, and Shakespeare are considered peerless. The rest of us have a lot of peers.
Vocabulary lists containing peerless
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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The Tragedy of Macbeth
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Power Suffix: -less
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And Lincoln recalled to us, in the peerless prose of the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural, what the Founding Fathers had given us and which still lies at the heart of this nation: freedom.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026
And yet the glue that held it all together was Marquinhos, still peerless at 31, and with the uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time while exuding calm authority.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
“On Hold” best married the band’s two worlds, sample-soaked yet rock driven; “Angels” remained a peerless devotional ballad.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026
Affectionate fans venerate the dialogue’s electric crackle and the cast’s peerless comedic timing.
From Salon • Jan. 31, 2026
Odysseus now addressed Alkinoos: “O majesty, model of all your folk, your promise was to show me peerless dancers; here is the promise kept. I am all wonder.”
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.