Synonyms

pet peeve

American

[pet peev] / ˈpɛt ˈpiv /

noun

a particular and often continual annoyance; personal bugbear.

This train service is one of my pet peeves.

pet peeve Idioms

A particular or recurring source of irritation, as in My pet peeve is that neighbor's cat running through my herb garden. [Early 1900s]

Etymology

Origin of pet peeve

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20

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.

“I have a pet peeve about mental-health narratives in a lot of movies,” says Shear.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

Tell us the word or phrase and why it’s your pet peeve.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

“It’s a pet peeve with many people,” he told me.

From Slate • Mar. 6, 2025

"It was something that, at first, would always really excite me, but has become increasingly something of a pet peeve," said bookseller and fantasy blogger Bethan Hindmarch, from Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire.

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2025

Okay, tiny pet peeve: when the girls call me kid.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023