What does peaky mean?
Peaky is an adjective with two broadly distinct uses. In its best-known British informal sense, it describes a person who looks thin, weak, or unwell: “She had looked peaky for days.” The word can carry a concerned or gently critical connotation, though it is often affectionate rather than hostile. It can also describe something pointed or angular, and in the expression “peaky blind,” it refers to a peaked cap, particularly one pulled down low over the eyes. The pointed and cap-related senses are less regional and can be understood in American English, but the sense describing a sickly appearance is distinctly associated with informal British usage. Peaky is therefore useful chiefly as an evocative description of appearance or shape, rather than as a formal medical or stylistic term. Its unusual combination of senses makes the word especially memorable in British speech.
adjectivePeaky means thin and sickly-looking, especially in British informal usage. It can also describe something that rises to a sharp point or has a peaked shape.
- Thin, weak, or sickly-looking.
- Rising to or having a sharp point.
- Provided with a peak, as a cap.
"He looked peaky and exhausted after weeks of poor sleep."
"The worried-looking child had a peaky face and kept glancing at the door."
"A peaky cap completed the guard's severe-looking uniform."
In British slang, a “peaky blind” is a peaked cap, especially one pulled low over the eyes.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does peaky come from?
Peaky was formed in English by adding the suffix “-y” to peak, giving it the sense of being pointed or resembling a peak. The noun peak, meaning a pointed summit, comes through Middle English from an Old English word associated with a sharp or pointed projection, although the ultimate origin of that word is uncertain. The modern adjective also developed an informal figurative use for a thin or sickly-looking person.
Related word forms
How peaky is actually used
The sense meaning thin or sickly is informal and especially associated with British English. The senses involving a sharp point or a cap with a peak are less common and more neutral.
Easily confused with peaky
Peaky is chiefly an informal British term for looking thin and sickly, whereas peaked more commonly describes a point, summit, or cap with a peak.