peeing

peeing — verb

1. to pass liquid waste from the body — the ordinary informal word used instead of

1.verbintransitiveA2
Definition

to pass liquid waste from the body — the ordinary informal word used instead of the technical term urinate, often when talking to children or in casual everyday conversation

Example

The toddler was peeing in the garden when a dog ran past and startled him.

intransitive + location phrase with 'in'

Ayana told the babysitter her son needed to pee before going to bed.

Common collocations
  • need to pee
  • have to pee
  • pee on something
  • pee one's pants
  • pee the bed
Synonyms
  • urinate

    the formal medical term; used in clinical or polite settings

  • wee

    British informal word, especially with children

  • go to the bathroom

    euphemism; refers to the whole act, not specifically urination

Grammar Patterns

pee + (optional location/object)

need to pee

Usage Note

Frequently used with children or in relaxed settings. The equivalent of this sense in formal or medical writing is urinate. In informal accident contexts, the verb can take a direct object such as 'your pants', 'the bed', or 'the floor'.

Common Mistakes

I need to urinate' in casual conversation with friends.
I need to pee.
'urinate' sounds too medical and formal for everyday talk.
He pee in the yard' (no verb inflection).
He peed in the yard.
'pee' is a regular verb and needs the -ed ending for past tense.

Word family

  • pee
    verbA2
  • pee
    nounA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Pee is the everyday informal word for passing liquid waste from the body. Urinate is the medical and formal term — you would see it on a doctor's form, not in casual conversation. Wee is a British informal term, often used with young children as a gentle, playful alternative. Go to the bathroom (or use the restroom) is a euphemism that covers both urination and defecation, used when direct words feel too blunt. For example, a parent might tell a child 'Go pee in the toilet' at home but say 'Excuse me, I need to use the restroom' in a restaurant.

peeurinateweego to the bathroom

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • need to pee
  • have to pee
  • stop to pee
  • pee one's pants

Prepositions

Etymology

Latin (imitative)Old FrenchEnglish

Pee comes from the letter P, an 18th-century euphemistic abbreviation of the word piss (the older informal term for urinate). Writers and speakers at the time often spelled out only the first letter of taboo words as a polite way to refer to them. Piss itself traces back through Old French pisser to a Latin imitative root, meaning the sound of urinating.