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• pe
  pe

  noun

  the 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
• PE
  PE

  abbreviation

  Prince Edward Island, Canada (approved for postal use).
• p/e
  p/e

  abbreviation

  price-earnings ratio.
• p.e.
  p.e.

  abbreviation

  printer's error.
• P.E.
  P.E.

  abbreviation

  Petroleum Engineer.

pe

¹ American  

[pay] / peɪ /

Or peh

noun

1. the 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

2. either of the consonant sounds represented by this letter.

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PE ² American  

abbreviation

1. Prince Edward Island, Canada (approved for postal use).

2. Biology, Ecology. possibly extinct.

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p/e ³ American  

Or P/E,

abbreviation

1. price-earnings ratio.

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p.e. ⁴ American  

Or P.E.

abbreviation

1. printer's error.

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P.E. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Petroleum Engineer.

2. physical education.

3. Presiding Elder.

4. Statistics. probable error.

5. Professional Engineer.

6. Protestant Episcopal.

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PE ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. physical education

2. potential energy

3. Presiding Elder

4. (esp in postal addresses) Prince Edward Island (Canadian Province)

5. Also: p.e. printer's error

6. statistics probable error

7. Protestant Episcopal

8. (in South Africa) Port Elizabeth

9. Peru (international car registration)

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pe ² British  

/ peɪ, pe /

noun

1. the 17th letter in the Hebrew alphabet (פ or, at the end of a word, ף) transliterated as p or, when final, ph

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pe ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Peru

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Etymology

Origin of pe

1895–1900; < Hebrew pē, akin to peh mouth

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pe PE p/e p.e. P.E.

Italy was the latest victim of what local media have taken to calling Jagger's "pe frio" — a term describing the bad luck that he brings teams that translates literally as "cold foot."

From US News ● Jun. 25, 2014

Italy was the latest victim of what local media have taken to calling Jagger's "pe frio", a term describing the bad luck that he brings teams.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 24, 2014

At Neah Bay the average was 1.0 fish pe rod, and just over half the catch was coho.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2010

"We must not be afraid of being pe culiar," declared Delegate L. Hugh Doncaster before 900 fellow Quakers from 35 nations gathered at Quaker-founded Guilford College in Greens boro, N.C.

From Time Magazine Archive

"I say, they'll pe speaking fa-ar petter English in Uist than in Styornaway."

From Mr. Punch in the Highlands by Various

Some think this is so extreme it is a bubble in earnings, the E part of the PE ratio.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

"I usually sat out of PE. I really love PE, but I couldn't do that."

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Which may explain the newest addition to the slop lexicon: PE, or private-equity, slop.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

“Hedge funds, PE structures, there’s a significant amount of earnings,” said Dianne Mehany of accounting firm EY, who advises high-net-worth clients.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

It’s not that I hate doing anything active, but in elementary school, PE meant going out on the blacktop in your regular clothes and playing softball or capture the flag.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

On a trailing p/e basis, the benchmark index is at 25.7 times earnings compared with an average of 15 since 1900.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026

Today they are $27, with a p/e ratio of 16, barely above the average.

From Economist ● Jun. 26, 2014

Referring to the company’s price to earnings ratio, he says Sirius is “moving into a decent p/e due to recent dividend payments.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2014

If a company has a high p/e, it is often considered expensive or indicates that investors expect higher earnings growth in the future.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 13, 2012

The average p/e ratio for the past 20 years is 20.4.

From BusinessWeek ● Jul. 6, 2010

The kids racing down the linoleum hallway take Spanish, art, p.e. and government here.

From Time Magazine Archive

And so the prospect of watching an eight-hour adaptation of the novel stretched out before me like a five-year semester in which every class was P.E.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Corey Kitani has been a P.E. teacher for six years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026

“I remember leaving P.E. after playing pickleball, heading to soccer practice and honestly feeling kind of bored,” Leeds recalled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2026

“We go to P.E. classes all the time,” Osorio said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2025

She said, “Why don’t you major in P.E., enjoy your college years, then maybe come back here in a few years and teach gym?”

From "Tears of a Tiger" by Sharon M. Draper

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