Peeping Tom

noun

1. a person who obtains sexual gratification by observing others surreptitiously, especially a man who looks through windows at night.

Peeping Tom

noun

1. a man who furtively observes women undressing; voyeur

peeping Tom

1. One who derives pleasure, usually sexual, from secretly spying on others. ( See voyeurism .)

Notes

The original “peeping Tom” was a legendary resident of the town where Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets. According to the story, Tom defied official orders by looking out his window as she went by and was struck blind.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Peeping Tom¹

First recorded in 1910–15; allusion to the legendary man who peeped at Lady Godiva as she rode naked through Coventry

Word History and Origins

Origin of Peeping Tom¹

C19: after the tailor who, according to legend, peeped at Lady Godiva when she rode naked through Coventry

Idioms and Phrases

A person who secretly watches others, especially for sexual gratification; a voyeur. For example, The police caught a peeping Tom right outside their house . This expression, first recorded in 1796, alludes to the legend of the tailor Tom, the only person to watch the naked Lady Godiva as she rode by and who was struck blind for this sin.

Example Sentences

"It's like being a modern day peeping Tom," she says, referring to the number of homes she looks inside, all from the comfort of her smartphone.

From BBC

Mr. Ibarra was also charged with a single “peeping Tom” count.

From New York Times

In the mid-1970s, Scorsese befriended the great British filmmaker Michael Powell, who likewise was frozen out of the business after 1960’s controversial “Peeping Tom.”

From Seattle Times

It’s like “Peeping Tom” meets one of Dario Argento’s giallo joints, but slathered in a coat of melancholic malaise.

From New York Times

At a frontally constructed window, a headless “peeping Tom” in the bushes directs your view through physical layers of space inside a house, passing through two empty interior rooms and out a rear window — or is that blurred window a painting too, mirroring at a distance the one you are looking into?

From Los Angeles Times