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Glite Dictionary
spring peeper

spring peeper

1 9.0
A small North American tree frog that makes a very high, thin call near ponds in spring
  • noun
  • /sprɪŋ ˈpipər/
  • US
translation icon : rana de primavera
  • At the beaver pond, elementary school students hunted spring peepers.
  • spring peepers and chorus frogs
  • sound of the spring peepers

Examples

  • I spend spring nights photographing spring peepers and chorus frogs.

    Academic text (1996)

  • He fears he will not live to hear the insistent comfort of spring peepers.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The user of this model can dictate the location of the calling male spring peeper and whether he is situated at ground level or up on the graminoid vegetation.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Besides the many spring peepers and upland chorus frogs calling out on the very warm 25th of February, there appears to be a lone female bullfrog on the side of Black Bear Pond.

    Blog text (13)

  • In early spring, the night air is filled with the distinctive calls of spring peepers near the wetlands.

  • The spring peeper is known for its high-pitched chirping, which can be heard echoing through the forest at dusk.

  • Children delighted in listening to the symphony of spring peepers as they explored the pond during their spring field trip.

Synonyms

tree frog
vsspring peeper
4 3.4

A small frog that lives in trees with sticky pads on its toes for climbing

is identified by a distinctive high pitched early spring call rather than climbing features
peeper
vsspring peeper
  • US
2 8.8

A small frog that makes short high-pitched sounds in spring

is a particular species famous for the same high pitched spring call
chorus frog
vsspring peeper
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A small North American frog with a loud musical call

is one specific species with a distinctive high pitched spring call
Hyla crucifer
vsspring peeper
  • Specialized
9.9

A small brown tree frog that makes a high thin call near marshes in spring

is the common name used in everyday speech instead of Latin species name

Surface Forms

spring peeper singular
spring peepers plural

Morphology

spring + peeper

The compound simply names a peeper (a small, high-calling frog) associated with the season of spring, so the definition is directly derivable from 'spring' + 'peeper'. This season+animal naming pattern is transparent and common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely understand the meaning.

Etymology

Spring peeper is named for the tiny frog that makes a high 'peep' call in early spring, and the word peeper comes from that peeping sound. That's why spring peeper means a small tree frog you hear near ponds as the weather warms.