Word of the Day: Pet
A pet is an animal that people keep for the purpose of companionship or because the animal is interesting. Pets are rarely eaten as food.
- Dogs and cats are popular pets.
- A pet store is a good place to buy a pet animal.
- When I was a kid, I had a hamster as a pet.
- It’s not a good idea to keep wild animals as pets.
When “pet” is used as a verb, it means to gently touch an animal or a person in a show of affection.
- Children love to pet animals.
- Can you pet a snake or a lizard?
- Dogs love to be petted. (This is in the passive voice.)
- Many zoos have within them a smaller petting zoo where small, tame animals can be petted or fed by the visitors to the zoo.
There are some common phrases in English that use the word “pet.”
- All the kids in class say that Angelica is the teacher’s pet. (teacher’s pet = a student who receives favorable treatment when compared to other students.)
- Cutting one’s fingernails in public is a common pet peeve. (pet peeve = a human behavior that is very irritating)
- High speed train travel through the state has become the Governor’s pet project. (pet project = a project that is favored over other projects.)
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with P page to see the list of all words starting with letter P. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
