pet peeve

American  

[pet peev] / ˈpɛt ˈpiv /

noun

pet peeves plural

1. a particular and often continual annoyance; personal bugbear.

   This train service is one of my pet peeves.

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pet peeve Idioms  

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pet peeves
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pet peeve

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pet peeve

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

It’s a pet peeve of hers when someone is multitasking when she’s trying to talk to them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

My current pet peeve is everyone on social media posting linear ratings and comparing them to the season before.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025

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

From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2025

The fact that many prescriptive rules are worth keeping does not mean that every pet peeve, bit of grammatical folklore, or dimly remembered lesson from Miss Thistlebottom’s classroom is worth keeping.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker