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Your peripheral vision is the outer area of your field of vision, where you can still detect movement and shapes. It can be very valuable when, for instance, you're driving into Chicago at rush hour, especially when switching lanes. When people call an issue in a discussion peripheral, they mean that it's not of primary importance, and they're probably suggesting that everyone get back to the main topic. Peripheral is now also a noun: computer peripherals are the added components—printers, webcams, microphones, etc.—that increase a computer's capacities.
Synonyms
Examples of peripheral in a Sentence
Gemma Allen, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
Those settlements show another, quieter front in China’s expanding efforts to assert its control over disputed, peripheral territories – also playing out in the South and East China Seas – as Chinese leader Xi Jinping seeks to bolster national security and enhance China’s position over its rivals.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024
Brian Westover, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
High-performance mechanical switches or potentiometer sticks still perform incredibly well, and some budget Hall effect peripherals will still cheap out on materials, quality control, and manufacturing tolerances.
—Henri Robbins, WIRED, 4 Nov. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near peripheral
Cite this Entry
“Peripheral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peripheral. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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peripheral
1 of 2 adjective
peripheral
2 of 2 nounMedical Definition
peripheral
adjective
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