PET (petted, petting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: petted    , petting   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does PET mean? 

• PET (noun)
  The noun PET has 4 senses:

1. a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement

2. a special loved one

3. a fit of petulance or sulkiness (especially at what is felt to be a slight)

4. using a computerized radiographic technique to examine the metabolic activity in various tissues (especially in the brain)

  Familiarity information: PET used as a noun is uncommon.

• PET (adjective)
  The adjective PET has 1 sense:

1. preferred above all others and treated with partiality

  Familiarity information: PET used as an adjective is very rare.

• PET (verb)
  The verb PET has 2 senses:

1. stroke or caress gently

2. stroke or caress in an erotic manner, as during lovemaking

  Familiarity information: PET used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PET (noun)

Sense 1

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 2

Meaning:

A special loved one

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

darling; dearie; deary; ducky; favorite; favourite; pet

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)

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:

Using a computerized radiographic technique to examine the metabolic activity in various tissues (especially in the brain)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

PET; positron emission tomography

Hypernyms ("PET" is a kind of...):

imaging; tomography ((medicine) obtaining pictures of the interior of the body)

• PET (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Preferred above all others and treated with partiality

Synonyms:

best-loved; favored; favorite; favourite; pet; preferent; preferred

Context example:

the favored child

Similar:

loved (held dear)

• PET (verb)

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 gently

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

pet the lamb

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)

Sense 2

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))

 Context examples 

Growl he would, from the moment the petting began till it ended.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Attacks by pets are more common.

(Animal Bites, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

“What is it? Speak, my pet!”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

PET scanning revealed that the brain circuits were functioning normally.

(Marmoset study gives insights into loss of pleasure in depression, University of Cambridge)

Pets can also make you sick.

(Animal Diseases and Your Health, NIH)

It won't hurt him, so remember, I leave him in your charge, to plague, pet, and keep in order.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Following exposure to this agent, EGFR expression status can be determined and EGFR overexpressing tumor cells can be visualized using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging.

(Carbon C 11 Erlotinib Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

A radioactive substance being studied in PET imaging to detect certain types of cancer.

(C-11 choline, NCI Dictionary)

In the patients whose PET scans and cerebrospinal fluid showed preclinical Alzheimer's, the area at the center of the retina without blood vessels was significantly larger, suggesting less blood flow.

(Predicting Alzheimer's Disease May Be Possible Using Eye Exam, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This did not want much of being finished, when I put it away in a pet, and vowed I would never take another likeness.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)