a term of respect for the head of a religious group, especially in Pakistan and various areas of the Middle East.
a religious instructor, especially in mystical sects.
First recorded in 1665–75; from Hindi, Urdu pīr “old man,” from Persian
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Columns show pir subfamilies and rows show species.
From Nature ● Jan. 24, 2017
Subfamilies were ordered by size, species were ordered for clarity. pir genes in rodent-infective species fall into a small number of well-defined families.
From Nature ● Jan. 24, 2017
Mr Khan was a religious instructor in the Sufi strand of Islam - also known as a pir.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2015
Near the imamzada of Sahid is a burial-ground, rendered holy by the dust of a pir or saint who lies there.
From Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume II (of 2) Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs by Bird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy)
He claimed to have found the will in the possession of his grandfather, Pir Muhammad, who had dementia when he died.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
Similar charges were handed down against Pir Danish Ali, 43, who runs a hunting outfitter and guide company in Pakistan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2023
In Dadu, Noor keeps the same routine as she once did in her village of Gholam Nabi Pir.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 9, 2022
The longest rail tunnel in India, which cuts through the foothills of the Pir Panjal mountain range, opened for a trial run on Thursday, the Hindustan Times reported.
From New York Times ● Dec. 30, 2012
His description of Srinagar and its vicinity still holds good, and modern books point us to the pass of the Pir Panjal so disastrous to the imperial ladies.
From Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 22, September, 1878 by Various
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.
