geek

noun

\ ˈgēk

Definition of geek

1 : a person often of an intellectual bent who is disliked

2 : an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity computer geek

3 : a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake

Other Words from geek Synonyms Of Nerds, Geeks, and Dorks More Example Sentences Learn More about geek

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Other Words from geek

geekdom \ ˈgēk-dəm

\ noun

geekiness noun

geeky \ ˈgē-kē

\ adjective

Synonyms for geek

Synonyms

bookworm, dink [slang], dork [slang], grind, nerd, swot [British], weenie, wonk

Of Nerds, Geeks, and Dorks

Dork, when used to refer to a socially awkward or inept person, is a relatively recent word: our records indicate that it first appeared in writing in the 1960s. Two of its synonyms in this sense are likewise of fairly recent vintage. Nerd (typically used of a studious species of dork) dates from the 1950s; it was coined by Dr. Seuss in his 1950 book If I Ran the Zoo, although not in the sense that we use today. Geek became synonymous with nerd in the 1950s. Prior to this, the word referred to, among other things, a carnival performer who would bite the head off a live chicken, or other small animal, as part of an act.

Examples of geek in a Sentence

He was a real geek in high school. was quickly stereotyped as another computer geek

Recent Examples on the Web

Huge geek, as in first crushes being [Star Trek's] Captain Picard and Data. — Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "American Gods Star Yetide Badaki on Finding Bilquis and That Sex Scene," 1 May 2017 Equally important to the show’s future, especially as one of the few sci-fi series on the big four broadcast networks, is its ability to grow and sustain a hard-core following known in geek culture as a fandom. — John Jurgensen, WSJ, "‘The Orville’ and Its Vintage Vibe Fill the Void for Some ‘Star Trek’ Fans," 26 Dec. 2018 Eventually, Steiner’s inner geek and proven obsession with 3D printing brought him to Brooklyn’s freshly founded tech darling, MakerBot. — Josh Snider, Popular Mechanics, "The Everything Workshop," 4 Dec. 2018 With her enormous liquid-brown eyes and voice that swings effortlessly from a deep, smoky growl to a breathy high pitch, Cabello is a temptress with a sense of humor, a geek unafraid to make fun of herself. — Kimberly Cutter, Marie Claire, "The Other Side of Camila Cabello," 14 Nov. 2018 ThinkGeek, purveyor of gadgets for practically every glorious facet of geek culture, is having a huge sale today across its entire site. — Cameron Faulkner, The Verge, "ThinkGeek is offering 50 percent off everything until 5PM ET," 3 Dec. 2018 Callaham's film-writing work revolves largely around action and geek-culture films, ranging from 2005's Doom film adaptation to 2010's first Expendables film. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Marvel reportedly wants to follow Black Panther’s success with Shang-Chi film," 3 Dec. 2018 Her lunch table in the original movie might have been the epitome of elitist exclusion — put your hair in a ponytail once too often and you were sent to Siberia with the math geeks — but it was not filled with teens staring at their screens. — Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, "Bye bye Lindsay Lohan. In Tina Fey's 'Mean Girls' on Broadway, the arty geeks take center stage.," 8 Apr. 2018 Data geeks say that steals and bunts aren’t worth it anymore, and triples, with their risk of an out, probably aren’t either. — WSJ, "Our Insane Ideas to Save Baseball," 25 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'geek.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.