pique
verb (used with object)
to affect with sharp irritation and resentment, especially by some wound to pride.
pique
1 American
[peek]
/ pik /
verb (used with object)
-
piques,
present (3rd person singular)
-
piqued,
past participle, past
-
piquing
present participle
-
to affect with sharp irritation and resentment, especially by some wound to pride.
She was greatly piqued when they refused her invitation.
- Antonyms:
- please
-
to wound (the pride, vanity, etc.).
- Synonyms:
- affront
- Antonyms:
- compliment
-
to excite (interest, curiosity, etc.).
Her curiosity was piqued by the gossip.
-
to arouse an emotion or provoke to action.
to pique someone to answer a challenge.
-
Archaic. to pride (oneself) (usually followed by on orupon ).
verb (used without object)
-
piques,
present (3rd person singular)
-
piqued,
past participle, past
-
piquing
present participle
noun
-
a feeling of irritation or resentment, as from a wound to pride or self-esteem.
to be in a pique.
-
Obsolete. a state of irritated feeling between persons.
pique
2
American
[peek]
/ pik /
noun
Piquet.
piqué
3
American
[pi-key, pee-, pee-key]
/ pɪˈkeɪ, pi-, piˈkeɪ /
Also
pique
noun
-
piqués
plural
-
a fabric of cotton, spun rayon, or silk, woven lengthwise with raised cords.
-
Ballet. a step in which the dancer steps onto the tip of the toe without bending the knee.
-
ornamentation by means of punched or stippled patterns, sometimes inlaid with metal, ivory, tortoise shell, etc.
adjective
-
(of glove seams and gloves) stitched through lapping edges.
-
decorated with inlay.
a piqué box.
pique
1
British
/ piːk /
noun
verb
-
to cause to feel resentment or irritation
-
to excite or arouse
-
to pride or congratulate (oneself)
pique
2
British
/ piːk /
noun
verb
piqué
3
British
/ ˈpiːkeɪ /
noun
Usage
What's the difference between pique, peak, and peek? The word pique is most commonly means to arouse or excite a particular feeling, as in Advertisements are designed to pique your interest. It can also be used as a verb meaning to irritate or as a noun referring to a feeling or irritation. The word peak refers to the top of a mountain or, more figuratively, to the highest point of something, as in the peak of my career. The word peek is most commonly used as a verb meaning to look at something quickly or sneakily and as a noun referring to such a look. The confusion surrounding the three words—all three of which can be used as both a verb and a noun—is mainly due to the fact that they are all pronounced the same. To remember what pique means (and how to spell it), remember that the things that pique your interest or curiosity are often unique.Since peek and peak are so close in spelling, one way to tell them apart is to remember that peek has two e’s, which kind of look like two little eyes peeking out between the p and the k. Another way to remember this is that peek has two e’s like look has two o’s. Here’s an example of pique, peak, and peek used correctly in a sentence. Example: The image of the strange mountain peak on the cover was meant to pique your curiosity, and it worked—you picked up the magazine to peek inside. Want to learn more? Read the breakdown of the difference between piqued, peaked, and peeked.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
piquesimple
-
piquessimple
-
have piquedperfect
-
has piquedperfect
-
am piquingprogressive
-
are piquingprogressive
-
is piquingprogressive
-
have been piquingperfect progressive
-
has been piquingperfect progressive
Past
-
piquedsimple
-
had piquedperfect
-
was piquingprogressive
-
were piquingprogressive
-
had been piquingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pique1
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French pique (noun), piquer (verb), from Vulgar Latin piccare (unrecorded) “to pick”; cf. pick 1, pike 2
Origin of piqué3
First recorded in 1830–40; from French, past participle of piquer “to quilt, prick”; see pique 1
Explanation
The verb pique means to make someone angry or annoyed. But when something piques your interest or curiosity, here the verb pique just means to arouse, stimulate, or excite. Both the noun and verb are pronounced "pēk" and were borrowed from a French word meaning "a prick or irritation," from Old French piquer, "to prick." So you can see how something that piques you could make you both excited and angry, perhaps even enough to storm away. That storming away, by the by, might be called a "fit of pique."
Vocabulary lists containing pique
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Some Tricky Homonyms
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Grade 12, List 3
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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.
See Examples For:
But two things can be true, and Bolton’s isn’t a simple case of presidential pique.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026
And in the case of at least one clothing item — a pique sandwash dress — Sam’s Club members had even influenced the design.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
Lubatti’s Berenger is an old baby, given to tantrums and fits of pique.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
And his letter to Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre highlighted his obsessive pique over not winning this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2026
This defiance was not a fit of pique, but a matter of principle.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
You can find the polo in a healthy array of fabrics beyond traditional piqué cotton, including soft jersey and fine-gauge wool and cashmere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2016
That afternoon, she was wearing a white piqué waistcoat with a tartan skirt.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 1, 2015
Melanie Hamrick and Hee Seo, dancing with Gennadi Saveliev’s Benno in the peasant pas de trois, were well matched, bringing their own brand of lovely reserve to crisp piqué turns and hops on point.
From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2012
For whiteness studies to push past the amiability of white-on-white education, Ahmed argues, all involved must perform something of an ethical piqué manège.
From Slate
One Sunday Mami starched and ironed my white piqué dress, packed a few changes of clothes in a small bag, and told me I was to spend a few days with Papi’s mother.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
Friday evening came, and with it a revelation in Houghton's window: the first piqués, the first strangely-woven and honey-combed toilet covers and bed quilts, the first frill-caps and aprons for maid-servants: a wonder in white.
From The Lost Girl by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
If you are not too much of a purist, you will occasionally find these piqués productive of a piquant effect, and then you will take good care not to touch them.
From A Treatise on Etching by Maxime Lalanne
I am told you are doing very well with your piqués and dimities....
From More Tales by Polish Authors by Various
The above receipts are adapted for sweetbreads fricasseed, except that they must be cut in pieces for fricassees, and pieces of meat or poultry are added to them; sweetbreads when dressed whole look better piqués.
From The Jewish Manual Practical Information in Jewish and Modern Cookery with a Collection of Valuable Recipes & Hints Relating to the Toilette by Lady Judith Cohen Montefiore
It is rare to find a book that you can open at random and almost always find something that piques your interest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 18, 2025
If that piques your interest, then you will find many things to enjoy in this show, which frequently feels less like an exercise in I.P. expansion and more like an experiment from comedy weirdos.
From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
Mass media spreads UFO content and piques worldwide interest in UFOs.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2023
The character will adapt itself to you rather than the other way round, so I do what piques my interest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2023
Even the piques of his palate, if they speak to anything.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
So when we saw data showing that the number of new business applications had been rising—while the number of such companies showing intent to hire had simultaneously stayed flat—it immediately piqued our interest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
That article, combined with anecdotes that some tech layoffs are hitting older workers, piqued my interest.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
That success has piqued the interest of lawyers and academics in Northern Ireland, who are trying to find ways to support the restoration of Lough Neagh.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
His Uncle Frank telling jokes from behind the bar in one of these taverns first piqued Dreesen’s interest in comedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
She was always eager to delve deeply into whatever piqued her interest, everything from photography to Latin.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
“Getting that attention on social media—that is piquing people’s interest, especially the younger generations.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Luria thinks all that is piquing the curiosity of value investors, who buy stocks they believe are trading at a discount to their intrinsic worth.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 21, 2026
Pawpaws aren't the only promising crops piquing people's interest.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2024
In previous work, Montell's team came across a mutation in this gene that impaired cell mobility, piquing their interest.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 30, 2024
And for some reason this strikes a chord, piquing a memory.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
