Peter Pan

American  

noun

1. the hero of Sir James M. Barrie's play about a boy who never grew up.

2. (italics) the play itself (1904).

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Peter Pan British  

noun

1. a youthful, boyish, or immature man

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Peter Pan Cultural  

1. (1904) A play by the Scottish author James Matthew Barrie about a boy who lives in Neverland, better known as Never-Never Land, a country where no child ever grows up. Peter brings the three children of the Darling family from London to Never-Never Land; they eventually decide not to stay, but Wendy, the eldest, promises to return every spring. Peter is assisted by his guardian fairy, Tinker Bell, and in the play he defeats his enemy, the pirate Captain Hook.

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Etymology

Origin of Peter Pan

C20: after the main character in Peter Pan (1904), a play by J. M. Barrie

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Peter Pan

The theatre, which opened in 1892, saw the premiere of JM Barrie's Peter Pan in 1904 and an appearance of Charlie Chaplin on the stage in 1905.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

“That feeling of flying I had on Peter Pan all those years ago is still real to me,” he wrote in the Wednesday morning note.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026

I read Hans Christian Andersen’s sad and frightening tales; I read the E. Nesbit books, and the usual children’s classics of the time, such as Treasure Island and Peter Pan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025

He is Peter Pan, and he dubs Wendy and other man-machine hybrids like her The Lost Boys – juvenile minds downloaded into bodies resembling human adults that will never age.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2025

“As far as I remember, Peter Pan himself once forgot she'd ever existed,” said Mo. “Am I right?”

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke