Peak or pique?
peak is a noun meaning “A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the…”; pique is a verb meaning “To wound the pride of (someone); to excite to anger; to irritate, to offend”. Use peak as a noun and pique as a verb (pique is also a noun: “Enmity, ill feeling; (countable) a feeling of animosity or…”). They sound the same (/piːk/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) peak is about 40 times as common as pique.
What is the difference between peak and pique?
| peak | pique | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb, adjective | verb, noun |
| Meaning | A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap The highest value reached by some quantity in a time period To raise the point of (a gaff) closer to perpendicular | To wound the pride of (someone); to excite to anger; to irritate, to offend To excite (someone) to action, especially by causing jealousy, resentment, etc.; also, to stimulate (an emotion or feeling, especially curiosity or interest) Enmity, ill feeling; (countable) a feeling of animosity or a dispute |
| Example | The stock market reached a peak in September 1929 | I believe this will pique your interest |
| Forms | peaks | piques, piquing, piqued |
| Pronunciation | /piːk/ | /piːk/ /pik/ /ˈpiːkeɪ/ |
| In writing | 34 times per million words | about once in every 1 million words |
Sources: peak and pique in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of peak and pique
peak
- 1
A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap
- 2
To raise the point of (a gaff) closer to perpendicular
- 3
At the greatest extent; maximum
peak oil, Peak TV
- 4
To become sick or wan
- 5
Alternative form of peag (“wampum”)
- 6
The highest value reached by some quantity in a time period
The stock market reached a peak in September 1929
- 7
To exceed the maximum signal amplitude of (a piece of equipment), resulting in clipping of the signal
- 8
slangMaximal, quintessential, archetypical, strictly with positive connotations; representing the culmination of its type
Knowing obscure 19th-century slang is peak nerd
pique
- 1
To wound the pride of (someone); to excite to anger; to irritate, to offend
- 2
Enmity, ill feeling; (countable) a feeling of animosity or a dispute
- 3
In piquet, the right of the elder hand to count thirty in hand, or to play before the adversary counts one
- 4
midgie, sand fly, punkie, punky (US)
- 5
Alternative form of piqué (“a kind of corded or ribbed fabric made from cotton, rayon, or silk”)
- 6
A kind of corded or ribbed fabric made from cotton, rayon, or silk
- 7
To excite (someone) to action, especially by causing jealousy, resentment, etc.; also, to stimulate (an emotion or feeling, especially curiosity or interest)
I believe this will pique your interest
- 8
Irritation or resentment awakened by a social injury or slight; offence, especially taken in an emotional sense with little consideration or thought; (countable) especially in fit of pique: a…
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, peak or pique?
peak appears 34 times per million words; pique about once in every 1 million words.
peak 34 times per million wordspique about once in every 1 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search peak vs pique?
“peak vs pique” is searched about 2,400 times a month on Google and 30 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“pique vs peak”, “peak or pique”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.