# pique

> English word · Verb · IPA /piːk/ · frequency rank #31,706

## Definitions
1. To wound the pride of (someone); to excite to anger; to irritate, to offend.
2. To excite (someone) to action, especially by causing jealousy, resentment, etc.; also, to stimulate (an emotion or feeling, especially curiosity or interest).
3. To pride (oneself) on something.
4. To excite or stimulate (oneself).
5. To take pride in.
6. To excite to action, especially by causing jealousy, resentment, etc.; also, to stimulate an emotion or feeling, especially curiosity or interest.
7. To express jealousy, resentment, etc. at someone; to become angry or annoyed.

## Etymology
The verb is borrowed from French piquer (“to prick, sting; to anger, annoy; (reflexive) to get angry; to provoke, stimulate; (reflexive) to boast about”), from Middle French piquer, picquer (“to prick, sting; to anger, annoy; (reflexive) to get angry”), from Old French piquer (“to pierce with the tip of a sword”), from proto-Romance or Vulgar Latin *pīccare (“to sting; to strike”) or *pikkāre, and then either:
* Onomatopoeic; or
* from Frankish *pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *pikkōną (“to knock; to peck; to pick; to prick”). If so, pique is a doublet of pick, pitch, and peck.
The noun is borrowed from Middle French pique (“a quarrel; resentment”) (modern French pique), from piquer, picquer (verb); see above.

## Easily confused with
- **pixie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pique-vs-pixie)
- **plaque** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pique-vs-plaque)
- **piqued** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pique-vs-piqued)
- **pie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pie-vs-pique)
- **pipe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pipe-vs-pique)
- **pile** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pile-vs-pique)
- **pine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pine-vs-pique)
- **pike** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pike-vs-pique)
- **piece** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/piece-vs-pique)
- **pious** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pious-vs-pique)
- **pinus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pinus-vs-pique)
- **peak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peak-vs-pique)
- **peek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peek-vs-pique)

## Common misspellings (6)
`ipque`, `piqeu`, `piqque`, `piuqe`, `ppique`, `pqiue`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pique