Definition of "pet" []

• An animal kept for amusement or companionship. (noun)
• An object of the affections. (noun)
• A person especially loved or indulged; a favorite: the teacher's pet. (noun)
• Kept as a pet: a pet cat. (adjective)
• Particularly cherished or indulged: a pet grandchild. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Some have pet dogs, some have pet cats: then why not a _pet quiz? _ ""
• "No shelf of nature books would be complete without a volume examining the bond between people and those animal species we have invited into our homes—that rich, reciprocal process of domestication for which the term "pet" seems trivializing."
• "My family, and a few friends, find the term pet sitter humorous, and a bit extragant."