Library / 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:

Nouns denoting animals

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:

Nouns denoting people

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:

Adjectives

Similar:

loved (held dear)

 III. (verb) 

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)

Credits

 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)