| / English Dictionary |
PET
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected forms: petted , petting
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Using a computerized radiographic technique to examine the metabolic activity in various tissues (especially in the brain)
Synonyms:
PET; positron emission tomography
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("PET" is a kind of...):
imaging; tomography ((medicine) obtaining pictures of the interior of the body)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("pet" is a kind of...):
animal; animate being; beast; brute; creature; fauna (a living organism characterized by voluntary movement)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A fit of petulance or sulkiness (especially at what is felt to be a slight)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions
Hypernyms ("pet" is a kind of...):
choler; crossness; fretfulness; fussiness; irritability; peevishness; petulance (an irritable petulant feeling)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A special loved one
Synonyms:
darling; dearie; deary; ducky; favorite; favourite; pet
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("pet" is a kind of...):
lover (a person who loves someone or is loved by someone)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pet"):
chosen (one who is the object of choice; who is given preference)
macushla ((an Irish term of address expressing affection) darling)
mollycoddle (a pampered darling; an effeminate man)
teacher's pet (the teacher's favorite student)
Derivation:
pet (stroke or caress in an erotic manner, as during lovemaking)
pet (stroke or caress gently)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Preferred above all others and treated with partiality
Example:
the favored child
Synonyms:
best-loved; favored; favorite; favourite; pet; preferent; preferred
Classified under:
Similar:
loved (held dear)
III. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they pet ... he / she / it pets
Past simple: petted
Past participle: petted
-ing form: petting
Sense 1
Meaning:
Stroke or caress in an erotic manner, as during lovemaking
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "pet" is one way to...):
caress; fondle (touch or stroke lightly in a loving or endearing manner)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
pet (a special loved one)
petter (a lover who gently fondles and caresses the loved one)
petting (affectionate play (or foreplay without contact with the genital organs))
Sense 2
Meaning:
Stroke or caress gently
Example:
pet the lamb
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "pet" is one way to...):
caress; fondle (touch or stroke lightly in a loving or endearing manner)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pet"):
canoodle (fondle or pet affectionately)
gentle (stroke soothingly)
make out; neck (kiss, embrace, or fondle with sexual passion)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
pet (a special loved one)
Context examples:
But now I was without this help, yet I wanted to follow him, so I said:—Professor, let me be your pet student again.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
There seemed a certain spice about it, such as men must feel who take delight in making pets of ferocious animals.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
They are the devil’s pet baits.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
It also brings the possibility that you will welcome a new pet.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
But dark or fair, she is my own dear little girlie, and her mother’s pet.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Upon PET imaging, tumor blood flow can be visualized and the efficacy of antineoplastic and anti-angiogenic chemotherapeutics can be assessed.
(Copper Cu 62 Ethylglyoxal Bis(thiosemicarbazone), NCI Thesaurus)
What is each family member looking for in a pet?
(Pet Health, NIH)
Be especially careful around children and pets.
(Pesticides, Environmental Protection Agency)
A radioactive form of carbon that is used in positron emission tomography (PET) scanning.
(Carbon-11 acetate, NCI Dictionary)
We stopped at the Greyhound, at Croydon, where the two good little mares were sponged and petted and fed, after which, at an easier pace, we made our way through Norbury and Streatham.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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