(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ at something, you look at it very hard, usually because it is difficult to see clearly.
I had been ~ing at a computer print-out that made no sense at all...
He watched the Customs official ~ into the driver’s window.
VERB: V prep, V prep
2.
In Britain, a ~ is a member of the nobility who has or had the right to vote in the House of Lords.
Lord Swan was made a life ~ in 1981.
N-COUNT
3.
Your ~s are the people who are the same age as you or who have the same status as you.
His engaging personality made him popular with his ~s.
N-COUNT: usu pl, poss N