Word.ws English Dictionary

for Pete's sake

for Pete's sake interjection: used to express frustration, exasperation, annoyance.

Interjection

  1. (minced oath) Used to express frustration, exasperation, annoyance.
    • For Pete's sake, get off the computer! You've been on there for ages!
    • “For Pete's sake, don't look so critical!” objected the emanation pleasantly.1920 September, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, “Head and Shoulders”, in Flappers and Philosophers, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 91

Synonyms of for Pete's sake

9 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Origin of for Pete's sake

Euphemistic variant of for Christ's sake, for God's sake; Pete either invoking Saint Peter or influenced by for pity's sake.

Questions about for Pete's sake

What does for Pete's sake mean?
For Pete's sake means used to express frustration, exasperation, annoyance.
What part of speech is for Pete's sake?
For Pete's sake is an interjection.

Words near for Pete's sake in the dictionary

  1. for one's own part
  2. for one's part
  3. for one's particular
  4. for one's trouble
  5. for openers
  6. for Pete's sake
  7. for pity's sake
  8. for real
  9. for real and for true
  10. for real life
  11. for reals

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: for Pete's sake (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-uk-for Pete's sake.ogg, en-us-for petes sake.ogg.

Cite this entry: “for Pete's sake.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/for_pete%27s_sake. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.