peripheral

American  

[puh-rif-er-uhl] / pəˈrɪf ər əl /

adjective

1. relating to, situated in, or constituting the periphery.

   peripheral resistance on the outskirts of the battle area.

2. concerned with relatively minor, irrelevant, or superficial aspects of the subject in question.

3. Anatomy. near the surface or outside of; external.

4. Computers. relating to a device or unit that is separate from but connected to a computer, network host, etc.

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noun

1. Computers.

   1. a device or unit that operates separately from the CPU but is connected to it, such as a mouse, printer, speakers, etc.

   2. a device or unit that is separate from a network’s host computer but in communication with it, such as a shared input terminal, printer, or backup drive.

peripheral British  

/ pəˈrɪfərəl /

adjective

1. not relating to the most important part of something; incidental, minor, or superficial

2. of, relating to, or of the nature of a periphery

3. anatomy of, relating to, or situated near the surface of the body

   a peripheral nerve

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peripheral Scientific  

/ pə-rĭf′ər-əl /

1. Anatomy Relating to or being the surface or outer part of a body or organ.

2. Relating to or being part of the peripheral nervous system.

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1. Computer Science An auxiliary device, such as a printer or modem, distinct from a computer's central processing unit and working memory, and often connected externally.

peripheral Cultural  

1. Any part that is separate from a computer's CPU, such as a printer, a keyboard, or a monitor.

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Other Word Forms

• peripherally adverb
• unperipheral adjective

Etymology

Origin of peripheral

First recorded in 1800–10; 1965–70 peripheral for def. 4; from Greek peripher(ḗs) ( periphery ( def. ) ) + -al ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

The move, first reported by the Financial Times, comes as the artificial intelligence giant seeks to shed what executives have described as peripheral projects as it tries to maintain its lead in the AI market.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

"It is more a peripheral vision or spatial awareness thing, sensing that something isn't quite right in the defence or there is more space than there should be."

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

In Europe, government bond yield spreads between peripheral eurozone countries and German Bunds tightened further, with Italian and Spanish spreads reaching new milestones and hitting levels unseen since 2008, according to LSEG.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

As part of the project, the researchers are releasing what they describe as the world's largest publicly available collection of peripheral blood smear images, totaling more than half a million samples.

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2026

There was one much older brother who was a peripheral presence.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• incidental
• tangential