Word Choice: Peak, Peek or Pique?

The words ‘peak’, ‘peek’ and ‘pique’ beg an important question: what kind of language has three completely different terms that sound exactly the same?

The answer is, of course, the silliest, most unnecessarily confusing language: English!

But since these terms all mean different things, it’s important to know how they should be used. This guide will help you avoid errors in your work.

Peak (High Point)

A ‘peak’ is a high point. This can be physical, such as a ‘mountain peak’:

Upon reaching the peak of Mount Everest, we were ready for tea.

Or it can be the highest level of something, such as an activity, achievement or measurement:

The temperature peaked at 34.4 °C.

As these examples show, ‘peak’ can be either a noun (i.e. the high point of something) or a verb (i.e. the action of reaching the highest point).

Peek (Glance or Look)

‘Peek’ can be used as a noun or a verb. As a noun, it refers to a quick or sneaky look:

Let’s take a peek at the news… Oh dear. Everything is still terrible.

As a verb, it describes the action of taking a quick look:

I peeked round the corner and saw him coming, so I ran away.

But it can also mean that something is sticking out so that it’s just visible:

He tried to hide, but I spotted his feet peeking out from behind the tree.

Most of the time, though, ‘peeking’ refers to looking at something.

Pique (Annoyance or Interest)

‘Pique’ is the most misused of the three terms here, possibly because it’s quite rare. You’ll sometimes hear it used in the phrase ‘a fit of pique’, which refers to annoyance:

He stormed off in a fit of pique.

It can also mean ‘arouse interest’, such as in the phrase ‘to pique curiosity’:

My curiosity was piqued when he mentioned having blueprints for the bank vault.

People often mix up ‘pique’ and ‘peak’ in this last case. This is because they think the phrase is ‘peaked my curiosity’, as in ‘raised to its highest point’. Try not to make this mistake!

Peak, Peek or Pique?

It’s very easy to confuse these words, especially if you’ve only heard them spoken. But since they each have distinct meanings, you should keep the following in mind:

Peak = High point

Peek = Look quickly

Pique = Annoy or arouse interest