1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

geek

noun

ˈgēk How to pronounce geek (audio)
Definition of geeknext
1
as in nerd
a person slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits was quickly stereotyped as another computer geek

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intellectual
a person with strong intellectual interests a jock-dominated campus on which geeks were either ridiculed or ignored

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in expert
a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field a friend who is an audio-video geek set up my home theater for me

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of geek Hannigan first hit the cultural zeitgeist as teen witch Willow Rosenberg on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but along the way found particular notoriety as the surprisingly promiscuous band geek Michelle in American Pie (1999). — Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Aug. 2026 Fortunately, Green’s film exists — and was not thrown into a little black hole by a bunch of accountants, never to be seen again — and can surely help cure any of the pain its backstory still inflicts on movie fans and Tunes geeks. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 12 Aug. 2026 From nomadic migrations to geek culture, many of the works seek to record and archive changing relations to place and community, not only in Doha but across the Gulf region. — Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 3 Aug. 2026 Holland’s jittery, earnest, winsome take on the iconic 64-year-old comic iconic was instantly likable, radiating teen-geek charisma. — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for geek
Recent Examples of Synonyms for geek
  1. nerd
  2. intellectual
  3. expert
  4. scholar
  5. master
  6. wizard
  7. adept
  8. guru
Noun
  • McCartney 3, 2, 1 wasn’t exclusively aimed at music nerds, but a certain measure of nerdiness was ideal for appreciating the six-episode deep dive, which featured thorough lyrical analysis and ruminations on a unique journey.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Jags coach Liam Coen has the nerd persona down pat (think Mike McDaniel), but there is evidence of brilliance there.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of nerd
Noun
  • Townshend was a Mod who grew up into a rock intellectual who still talked like a bloke.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Unlike many from evangelical churches, John Calvin was a hardcore intellectual.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of intellectual
Noun
  • The high number is likely boosted by unusually warm water and the presence of an El Niño weather phenomenon with potentially historic rain for California, experts have said.
    — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The page says the funds will be used only for legal expenses, including filings, transcripts, investigators and experts.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of expert
Noun
  • Activist networks and legal scholars are rehearsing doomsday scenarios, planning mass protests and advising judges on ballot seizures and ICE deployments, underscoring fears that the midterms could stress-test American democracy.
    — Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Rediscovered in 1987, the painting was initially associated with Caravaggio himself before scholars settled on Cavarozzi.
    — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of scholar
Noun
  • A student there named John-Michael Tebelak wrote the book for the show as his master’s thesis, with original songs provided by his friends.
    — Victor Garber, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Parker’s Heritage Collection is named after the late master distiller Parker Beam, who joined Heaven Hill in 1960 when his father, Earl Beam, was master distiller there.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of master
Noun
  • Newcomer Dominic McLaughlin stars as Harry Potter, the 11-year old wizard previously brought to life by Daniel Radcliffe.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Harry must find the courage to prove himself against the darkest wizard of all.
    — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of wizard
Noun
  • Still, the question of what Ebel was doing with his adepts swept through Prussia, dominating the newspapers that had only recently begun to emerge from their eighteenth-century chronicling of obligations to a more modern publicizing role.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Lest things get predictable, Tasjan’s adept at letting the music battle with the lyrics in a way that hints at how any experience is far more complex than we are led to believe.
    — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 17 July 2026
Definition of adept
Noun
  • Longtime rankings guru Loren Maxwell figured out a way to create high school football schedules with maximum competitive matchups and minimized travel … and then applied it to all 413 GHSA schools.
    — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • This was the Jack Kornfield, the mindfulness guru who wrote A Path With Heart, the book that had launched Britton’s journey into Buddhism.
    — Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of guru

Browse Nearby Words

gee
geek
geeked
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Geek.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/geek. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of aggrandize

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All