Pete or peter?
pete is a noun meaning “Acronym of polyethylene terephthalate”; peter is a noun meaning “radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter P”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) peter is about 5.8 times as common as pete.
What is the difference between pete and peter?
| pete | peter | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun, verb |
| Meaning | radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter P Chiefly followed by out: originally (mining), of a vein of ore: to be depleted of ore; now (generally), to diminish to nothing; to dwindle, to trail off Synonym of blue peter; to call for trump by throwing away a high card while holding a lower one | |
| Example | Near-synonym: ♳ | I found a veinlet about 15 in. wide and very rich in gold. Trenching along its outcrop showed that it extended about 100 ft. and then… |
| Forms | petes | peters |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈpiːtə/ /ˈpitɚ/ [ˈpʰitɚ] |
| In writing | 13 times per million words | 76 times per million words |
Sources: pete and peter 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 pete and peter
pete
- 1
Acronym of polyethylene terephthalate
Near-synonym: ♳
- 2
slangAlternative form of peter (“a safe”)
peter
- 1
radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter P
- 2
slangThe penis
- 3
UKslangA safe
- 4
Chiefly followed by out: originally (mining), of a vein of ore: to be depleted of ore; now (generally), to diminish to nothing; to dwindle, to trail off
I found a veinlet about 15 in. wide and very rich in gold. Trenching along its outcrop showed that it extended about 100 ft. and then pinched out altogether. A winze sunk on the…
- 5
Synonym of blue peter; to call for trump by throwing away a high card while holding a lower one
- 6
UKslangA prison cell
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, pete or peter?
pete appears 13 times per million words; peter 76 times per million words.
pete 13 times per million wordspeter 76 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).