pet peeve

noun

: a frequent subject of complaint

Examples of pet peeve in a Sentence

One of my biggest pet peeves is people driving too slowly on the highway.

Recent Examples on the Web

Clarkson also talked about parenthood in the upcoming episode of Kelce’s podcast, revealing her school system pet peeve. —Angel Saunders, People.com, 27 Mar. 2025

Everyone has them, and what those pet peeves are can tell you a lot about a person. —Dalton Ross, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2025

According to one study, being overly formal was listed as a pet peeve by nearly half of consumers (46%), with two-thirds feeling the same way about brands using overly complicated language. —Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025

My pet peeve is judges who bang their gavel each time that rule on something. —Rich Heldenfels, Boston Herald, 2 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pet peeve

• achieve
• believe
• conceive
• deceive
• naive
• perceive
• receive
• relieve
• reprieve
• retrieve
• breve
• cleave