1 N‑COUNT A pessary is a small block of a medicine or a contraceptive chemical that a woman puts in her vagina.
2 N‑COUNT A pessary is a device that is put in a woman's vagina to support her womb.
pes|si|mism /pe s I m I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Pessimism is the belief that bad things are going to happen. □ [+ about/over ] …universal pessimism about the economy. □ My first reaction was one of deep pessimism.
pes|si|mist /pe s I m I st/ (pessimists ) N‑COUNT A pessimist is someone who thinks that bad things are going to happen. □ I'm a natural pessimist; I usually expect the worst.
pes|si|mis|tic /pe s I m I st I k/ ADJ Someone who is pessimistic thinks that bad things are going to happen. □ [+ about ] Not everyone is so pessimistic about the future. □ Hardy has often been criticised for an excessively pessimistic view of life. ● pes|si|mis|ti|cal|ly /pe s I m I st I kli/ ADV [ADV with v] □ 'But it'll not happen,' she concluded pessimistically.
pest /pe st/ (pests )
1 N‑COUNT Pests are insects or small animals which damage crops or food supplies. □ …crops which are resistant to some of the major insect pests and diseases. □ …new and innovative methods of pest control.
2 N‑COUNT You can describe someone, especially a child, as a pest if they keep bothering you. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ He climbed on the table, pulled my hair, and was generally a pest.
pes|ter /pe stə r / (pesters , pestering , pestered ) VERB If you say that someone is pestering you, you mean that they keep asking you to do something, or keep talking to you, and you find this annoying. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [V n] I thought she'd stop pestering me, but it only seemed to make her worse. □ [V n prep] I know he gets fed up with people pestering him for money. □ [V n to-inf] …that creep who's been pestering you to go out with him. [Also V ]
pes|ti|cide /pe st I sa I d/ (pesticides ) N‑VAR Pesticides are chemicals which farmers put on their crops to kill harmful insects.
pes|ti|lence /pe st I ləns/ (pestilences ) N‑VAR Pestilence is any disease that spreads quickly and kills large numbers of people. [LITERARY ]
pes|ti|len|tial /pe st I le nʃ ə l/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] Pestilential is used to refer to things that cause disease or are caused by disease. [FORMAL ] □ …people who were dependent for their water supply on this pestilential stream. □ …a pestilential fever.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Pestilential animals destroy crops or exist in such large numbers that they cause harm. [FORMAL ]
pes|tle /pe s ə l/ (pestles ) N‑COUNT A pestle is a short rod with a thick round end. It is used for crushing things such as herbs, spices, or grain in a bowl called a mortar.
pes|to /pe stoʊ/ N‑UNCOUNT Pesto is an Italian sauce made from basil, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, and olive oil.
pet ◆◇◇ /pe t/ (pets , petting , petted )
1 N‑COUNT A pet is an animal that you keep in your home to give you company and pleasure. □ It is plainly cruel to keep turtles as pets. □ …a bachelor living alone in a flat with his pet dog.
2 ADJ Someone's pet theory, project, or subject is one that they particularly support or like. □ He would not stand by and let his pet project be killed off.
3 VERB If you pet a person or animal, you touch them in an affectionate way. □ [V n] The police officer reached down and petted the wolfhound. COLLOCATIONS pet NOUN 1
verb + pet : pamper; adopt; abandon, dump
adjective + pet : beloved, much-loved; unwanted; domestic
noun + pet : family, household
pet|al /pe t ə l/ (petals ) N‑COUNT The petals of a flower are the thin coloured or white parts which together form the flower. □ …bowls of dried rose petals.
pe|tard /petɑː r d/ (petards ) PHRASE If someone who has planned to harm someone else is hoist with their own petard or hoist by their own petard , their plan in fact results in harm to themselves. □ The students were hoist by their own petards, however, as Granada decided to transmit the programme anyway.
pe|ter /piː tə r / (peters , petering , petered )
▸ peter out PHRASAL VERB If something peters out , it gradually comes to an end. □ [V P ] The six-month strike seemed to be petering out.
Peter PHRASE If you say that someone is robbing Peter to pay Paul , you mean that they are transferring money from one group of people or place to another, rather than providing extra money. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ Sometimes he was moving money from one account to another, robbing Peter to pay Paul.
pet|it bour|geois /pe ti bʊə r ʒwɑː/ also petty bourgeois ADJ Someone or something that is petit bourgeois belongs or relates to the lower middle class. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ He had a petit bourgeois mentality.
pet|it bour|geoi|sie /pe ti bʊə r ʒwɑːziː / also petty bourgeoisie N‑SING [with sing or pl verb] The petit bourgeoisie are people in the lower middle class. [DISAPPROVAL ]
pe|tite /pətiː t/ ADJ If you describe a woman as petite , you are politely saying that she is small and is not fat.
pet|it four /pe ti fɔː r / (petits fours or petit fours ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Petits fours are very small sweet cakes. They are sometimes served with coffee at the end of a meal.
pe|ti|tion /pət I ʃ ə n/ (petitions , petitioning , petitioned )