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

“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

Conversely, among the truths that Wendy lands on in the end is that her maker is nothing like his fairy tale role model, Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up.

From Salon • Sep. 24, 2025

Noah Hawley’s television prequel to ‘Alien’ nods to Peter Pan and raises questions about what makes us humans and whether it’s all that great to be one.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 12, 2025

She didn’t bring Peachy’s needlepoint alphabet or her personal portrait of Peter Pan, either.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye