Meaning

(British, informal) An annoying child, a brat..

Definitions by Sense

1. (British, informal) An annoying child, a brat.
2. (rare) One who perishes.
3. (British, Australia, obsolete) An extreme act; a case of going all in.

Example Sentences

Get off my lawn, you little perisher!

The Perishers Various peoples have perished in the past - for instance, Neanderthal Man and, later, the Tasmanians. Others are in the process of perishing - the aboriginees of Australia, the Bushmen, the Ituri Pygmies and the Red Indians.

They died to decree that government of and by and for the PEOPLE (identity undefined) should never perish. The poor perishers, perishing still.

It was cheaper but more tedious to crunch the blighters between finger and nail. There was a rather satisfying little crack as each of the perishers perished.

'So I've come down to Coltonslough, being, as I understand, the dullest hole upon the earth's crust, and I mean to go in a perisher.' A 'perisher' was his expression. 'And I mean to read like old boots; so you may let your servant light me a fire, ...'

Then he most times went in an awful perisher — took a month to it, and was never sober day or night the whole time. When he'd spent all his money he'd crawl out of the township and get away into the country more dead than alive, ...

He went in a perisher last night, laying aginst Sir Tatton Sykes for the Derby with a half-a-dozen thousand pound notes in his hands, all of which he will lose.

Word Forms

• perishers

Related Words

When Should You Use Perisher?

Use perisher when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions