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\ ˈgȯk 
\
\Definition of gawk
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a clumsy stupid person : lout
gawk
verbgawked; gawking; gawks
Definition of gawk (Entry 2 of 2)
: to gape or stare stupidly
gawked at the fish in the aquarium
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Synonyms for gawk
Synonyms: Noun
- clod,
- clodhopper,
- hulk,
- lout,
- lubber,
- lug,
- lump,
- Neanderthal,
- oaf,
- palooka
Synonyms: Verb
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Examples of gawk in a Sentence
Noun
thought that the linebackers were dumb gawks until he got to know them better Verb
a crowd of gawking tourists
couldn't help gawking at the exotically dressed guests in the hotel lobby
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The reader doesn’t gawk at her tragedy and resilience.
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Karen Valby, New York Times, "In Hollywood, Stories About People of Color Are Still Rare. These Y.A. Fantasy Novels Pick Up the Slack.," 4 Feb. 2020 Even in the drowsy predawn morning, onlookers stopped to gawk.
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Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, "The Sun Rises on Wegmans in Brooklyn," 28 Oct. 2019 By Saturday afternoon, reporters and photographers loitered outside the restaurant, as did people who had wandered over to gawk.
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Sarah Murray, latimes.com, "Why a small-town restaurant owner asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave — and would do it again," 24 June 2018 Auto tourists could temporarily stop, gawk and shop at a towering dinosaur, giant sombrero or the world’s largest cheese wheel.
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Vincent Crampton, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Explore Florida's Hernando County: This roadside attraction is alive and kicking," 6 May 2018 McM sold its beets to sugar companies that supplied candy makers Hershey Co. and Mars Inc.
During harvest, locals pulled over to gawk at the farm’s machines clawing beets from the soil, at work around the clock.
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Patrick Mcgroarty, WSJ, "Two Brothers, Tied to the Land, Face Wrath of America’s Farm Bust," 18 Dec. 2017 But almost everyone can walk — and gawk — at the homes along its shores.
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Chelsey Lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Lake Geneva's opulent lakefront estates are a walk or boat ride away," 7 Sep. 2017 The park offers few amenities: no restaurants, no shade and nothing much to do except gawk at deserted arenas.
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Renata Brito, The Seattle Times, "Rio’s Olympics 1 year later: The good, the bad and the ugly," 28 July 2017 The park offers few amenities: no restaurants, no shade and nothing much to do except gawk at deserted arenas.
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Washington Post, "Rio’s Olympics 1 year later: The good, the bad and the ugly," 28 July 2017 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The piece became such a focus of gawking that the gallery removed it Sunday for the final day to encourage viewers to see the rest of the art fair.
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Kelli Kennedy, chicagotribune.com, "Couple who bought $120k duct-taped banana during Art Basel Miami sense it will be iconic, plan to gift it to a museum," 12 Dec. 2019 The piece became such a focus of gawking that the gallery removed it Sunday for the final day to encourage viewers to see the rest of the art fair.
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Washington Post, "Couple who bought $120k banana art sense it will be iconic," 12 Dec. 2019 From behind the superficial safety of one home’s gate, two young men gawked at the deluge, their expressions trapped between scoff and awe.
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New York Times, "The Rise of the Spice Girls Generation," 19 July 2019 For more than 80 years, the ranch has been open to passersby who want to gawk.
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Ha Duong, WSJ, "4 Tourist Attractions You Can’t Photograph—from Geishas to Daffodil Hill," 30 Jan. 2020 There were photos to peruse, songs to listen to, cases of instruments and costumes to gawk at (the most amusing item was a flipbook of Chuck Berry doing his walk).
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Jane Smiley, New York Times, "Jane Smiley on What St. Louis Tells Us About America," 14 Oct. 2019 The Monaco event started in 1991 as a place for owners, brokers and fans of megaboating to gawk at the latest designs.
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Benjamin Stupplesbloomberg, Los Angeles Times, "How to get super rich selling superyachts," 5 Oct. 2019 Although this season’s Celtics roster will probably include multiple All-Stars, the spotlight during team’s pregame warmup routines generally shines on rookie Javonte Green, whose array of high-flying dunks even make his teammates gawk.
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Adam Himmelsbach, BostonGlobe.com, "Enes Kanter looking to inspire more than his Celtics teammates," 12 Jan. 2020 The windows roll down to reveal two young boys gawking at her with an older woman, presumably a motherly figure, shooting her a disapproving look.
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Mike Brest, Washington Examiner, "KFC apologizes for 'sexist' ad showing boys staring at woman's breasts and rear," 21 Jan. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gawk.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for gawk
gawk
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of gawk
informal : to stare at someone or something in a rude or stupid way
See the full definition for gawk in the English Language Learners Dictionary
gawk
verb\ ˈgȯk \
\gawked; gawking
Kids Definition of gawk
: to stare stupidly
She stood there gawking at the celebrities.
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Time Traveler for gawk
The first known use of gawk was in 1757
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