the peerage

noun

formal
1
: the people who are members of the British nobility : the people who are peers
2
: the rank of a British peer
He was given the peerage after years of devoted service to the community.

Examples of the peerage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Season three cavalierly upends that storyline by handing Will’s young son a surprise title and elevating Will’s entire family to the peerage. Aja Romano, Vox, 21 May 2024 Victims are calling for Clarke to be stripped of the peerage he was awarded in 2020 by Boris Johnson. Harriet Marsden, The Week Uk, theweek, 21 May 2024 Though most historians agree that Anne was likely innocent of the crimes she was accused of, she was nonetheless unanimously convicted by a court of the peerage. Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, 28 Aug. 2022 Today, however, the heralds are experts on such things as history and genealogy and provide advice on anything to do with the peerage and royal ceremonies. Phil Boucher, PEOPLE.com, 10 May 2022 There are also more than a thousand baronets, a title associated with country squires that ranks below a baron and is not part of the peerage. Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 14 Nov. 2020 As a baronet descended, Brooksbank comes from the only class of British nobility not part of the peerage, the ranks of which consist (in descending order of precedence) of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron. Sabrina Park, Harper's BAZAAR, 22 Apr. 2023

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

Dictionary Entries Near the peerage

Cite this Entry

“The peerage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20peerage. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!