peep show

noun

: an entertainment (such as a film) or object (such as a small picture) that is viewed through a small opening or a magnifying glass and is usually sexually explicit

Examples of peep show in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web History has shown than when people listen to my music, money tends to flow to bartenders, race tracks, late night greasy spoons, bail bondsman, go kart tracks, tractor pulls, football games, peep shows and several black market vices. Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 12 June 2024 The episode begins with Lillian (Adina Porter) walking through the red-light district in New York where peep shows cost 25 cents. Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 7 Oct. 2023 Land enough eggs in his mouth and the anthropomorphized egg would reward the triumphant player with a peep show. WIRED, 15 June 2023 In many of these exhibition halls, science is presented theatrically, frozen vignettes of wild animals and life-size human dioramas, with darkened lighting in a warren of anthropological peep shows. Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 4 May 2023 At 17, Kelly worked at a peep show in order to make enough money for her own apartment (Kelly had moved in with boyfriend Rudy because of her parents’ legal issues). USA TODAY, 2 May 2023 The movie's finest beat, indeed the only one containing any lasting emotion, takes place between Neeson and Murphy in a peep show booth, where the priest has come to find his daughter in order to finally reveal information that might lead to her birth mom. Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 17 Feb. 2023 That effect is enhanced by Arnulfo Maldonado’s set design, in which a glamorous Austrian curtain encircles the dingy room and a turntable suggests a never-ending peep show. Jesse Green, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2022 Four distinct sets were built, and 14 women worked in the warehouse, and they were broadcast online in what is compared to a grainy, online peep show. Evan Romano, Men's Health, 9 Mar. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'peep show.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of peep show was in 1801

Dictionary Entries Near peep show

Cite this Entry

“Peep show.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peep%20show. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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