gawk

1 of 2

noun

ˈgȯk 

: a clumsy stupid person : lout

gawk

2 of 2

verb

gawked; gawking; gawks

intransitive verb

: to gape or stare stupidly

gawked at the fish in the aquarium

gawker noun

Synonyms of gawk

Noun

• hulk
• lump
• idiot
• stupid
• moron
• creep
• mutt
• loser
• lug
• brute

Verb

• stare
• gaze

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Carrie raves to Seema about her creative connection with Duncan, and during another writing session, Duncan helps Carrie with her faulty printer and gawks at her closet full of designer dresses and shoes. — Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 31 July 2025

The badaud, by contrast, is always liable to form a group or crowd, either for a mass gawk or some communal response. — Julian Barnes, The New York Review of Books, 27 Apr. 2022

Verb

We’re brought into the scene via the boy’s illuminated buttocks, and conducted to the background, where a crew of ten soldiers gawk at the spectacle. — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 13 July 2026

Vehicles with lone male occupants zigzag down side streets and through alleys, the drivers slowing to gawk at women. — Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably from English dialect gawk left-handed

Verb

perhaps alteration of obsolete gaw to stare

First Known Use

Noun

1757, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1837, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gawk

• balk
• baulk
• bloc
• bock
• broch
• brock
• calk
• caulk
• chalk
• chock
• clock
• cock

Kids Definition

gawk

verb

ˈgȯk

: to stare stupidly

Etymology

Verb

probably an altered form of obsolete gaw "to stare"