/ peg; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
a short piece of wood, metal or plastic used for holding things together, hanging things on, marking a position, etc. :
There's a peg near the door to hang your coat on.
2.
(also ˈtent peg ) a small pointed piece of wood or metal that you attach to the ropes of a tent and push into the ground in order to hold the tent in place
3.
(also ˈclothes peg ) (both BrE ) ( NAmE clothes·pin ) a piece of wood or plastic used for attaching wet clothes to a clothes line
4.
(also ˈtuning peg ) a wooden screw for making the strings of a musical instrument tighter or looser
—picture at cello
•
IDIOMS
- off the peg
- bring / take sb down a peg (or two)
- a peg to hang sth on
—more at square adjective
■ verb ( -gg- )
1.
[ vn ] peg sth (out) to fasten sth with
pegs :
All their wet clothes were pegged out on the line.
She was busy pegging her tent to the ground.
2.
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] peg sth (at / to sth) to fix or keep prices, wages, etc. at a particular level :
Pay increases will be pegged at 5%.
Loan repayments are pegged to your income.
3.
[ vn ] peg sb as sth ( NAmE , informal ) to think of sb in a particular way :
She pegged him as a big spender.
•
IDIOMS
see level adjective
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- peg away (at sth)
- peg sb/sth back
- peg out
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : probably of Low German origin; compare with Dutch dialect peg plug, peg. The verb dates from the mid 16th cent.