Meanings
plural peeping toms · alternative peeping Tom · alternative Peeping Tom
- A person who watches another without the other's permission and usually without the other's knowledge, especially for the purpose of deriving sexual pleasure from the sight of the other.
Reynolds contended that the Chinese was a peeping tom whom he caught spying on his wife one night last March while she was toweling herself after a shower.
1957 June 3, “A Question of Justice”, in Time2 more examples
The girls complained about peeping Toms. There was a skylight window in the communal ladies' shower, and one night Jennie and a friend looked up while showering, to see two young male faces staring at them from above.
2000, Jeffrey Geri, Oh, Henry, →ISBN, page 148"They claim that the security is good at UM, but we had five break-ins into student dorms and numerous reports of peeping Toms in the women's dorm bathrooms."
2005, a UM student quoted in College Prowler: University Of Michigan: off the record →ISBN, page 20
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA person who watches another without the other's permission and usually without the other's knowledge, especially for the purpose of deriving sexual pleasure from the sight of the other.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna viewer who enjoys seeing the sex acts or sex organs of others
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From Peeping Tom, a tailor in the legend of Lady Godiva who watched Godiva riding naked.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مُتَلَصِّص
- مُتَلَصِّص (mutalaṣṣiṣ)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Chinese Mandarin 偷窺者 /偷窥者, 偷窺狂 /偷窥狂
- 偷窺者 /偷窥者 (tōukuīzhě)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- 偷窺狂 /偷窥狂 (tōukuīkuáng)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Czech šmírák, voyeur
- šmírákperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- voyeurperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Danish vindueskigger
- vindueskiggerperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Dutch gluurder, voyeur
- gluurderperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- voyeurperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Finnish tirkistelijä, voyeuristi
- tirkistelijäperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- voyeuristiperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
French voyeur, voyeuse
- voyeurperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- voyeuseperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
German Voyeur, Spanner
- Voyeurperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- Spannerperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Greek ηδονοβλεψίας, οφθαλμοπόρνος
- ηδονοβλεψίας (idonovlepsías)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- οφθαλμοπόρνος (ofthalmopórnos)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- ματάκιας (matákias)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- μπανιστηρτζής (banistirtzís)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Icelandic gluggagægir
- gluggagægirperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Italian guardone
- guardoneperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Japanese 出歯亀, 覗き魔
- 出歯亀person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- 覗き魔 (nozokima)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Norwegian Bokmål vinduskikker
- vinduskikkerperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Persian هیز
- هیز (hiz)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Polish podglądacz
- podglądaczperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Portuguese voyeur, espreitador
- voyeurperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- espreitadorperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Russian вуайери́ст, вуайери́стка
- вуайери́ст (vuajjeríst)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- вуайери́стка (vuajjerístka)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- вуайёр (vuajjór)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- согляда́тай (sogljadátaj)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- подгля́дывающий (podgljádyvajuščij)person who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Spanish voyeur, mirón
- voyeurperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- mirónperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Swedish voyeur, smygtittare
- voyeurperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- smygtittareperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- fönstertittareperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
- fluktareperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Turkish röntgenci
- röntgenciperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Welsh Twm Pip
- Twm Pipperson who secretly watches someone to gain sexual pleasure
Cite this entry
peeping tom. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peeping%20tom
“peeping tom.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peeping%20tom. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “peeping tom,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peeping%20tom.
Source: peeping tom on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.