Meaning of pet In English

• 0 an animal that is kept in the home as a companion and treated kindly:

  • They have several pets - a dog, two rabbits, and a guinea pig.

  • a pet snake

• 1 to be the person that someone in authority likes best and treats better than anyone else:

  • The other children hated her because she was the teacher's pet.

  • He's always sending me flowers - he's a real pet!

  • Thank you, pet.

• 2 If you pet an animal, child, etc., you touch it, him, or her gently and kindly with your hands:

  • Our dog loves to be petted and tickled behind the ears.

• 3 a theory, subject, hate, etc. that is special and important to you:

  • Football is one of her pet hates.

  • US My pet peeve (= pet hate) is cleaning the bathroom.

• 4 abbreviation for polyethylene terephthalate: a type of plastic used especially to make bottles:

  • The house has translucent walls made from a plastic called PET, essentially the same material used in soda bottles.

  • Most water bottles are made from PET plastic.

• 5 abbreviation for positron emission tomography: a method of using special rays (= beams of light) to make images of the inside of the body, especially the brain:

  • They used PET, a brain-scanning technology.

  • Volunteers underwent PET scans while trying to quickly retrace routes between various landmarks in the virtual town.

• 6 an animal that is kept in the home as a companion and treated affectionately:

  • She has several interesting pets, including a couple of snakes.

• 7 especially liked or personally important:

  • The legislation will face strong opposition from senators whose pet projects would be cut back.

• 8 to touch an animal or person gently and affectionately with the hands:

  • [ T ] Our dog loves to be petted and tickled behind the ears.