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

He says he believes the system has improved access to university for disadvantaged students, and that it's a "pet peeve" to hear discussions of it being a "crippling loan", or like a mortgage.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 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

I know that unnecessarily tall things are a pet peeve of Autumn’s, but I don’t understand why she seems so ready to go head-to-head with something this huge.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

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