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Of Nerds, Geeks, and Dorks
This trio of words historically refers to the uncool among us. 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 may have been coined by Dr. Seuss in his 1950 book If I Ran the Zoo, although not in the sense that we use today. Nerd is now often used in a neutral fashion to denote enthusiasm or expertise (theater nerd) or proudly as a self-identifying trait (word nerd). Geek became synonymous with nerd in the 1950s and has similarly seen increasing use with positive connotations, highlighting membership in a specialized group (film geek, beer geek) rather than social awkwardness. In its earliest meanings, geek 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
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 22 May 2025
Jon Cherry/Getty Images For years, crypto was viewed by many as a weird and fringe investment, hyped up by a bunch of math geeks and used widely by all kinds of unsavory characters, from drug dealers to hackers.
—Rafael Nam, NPR, 19 May 2025
There’s a noticeable pride Morot takes in touring me around his geek’s paradise: a two-level office crammed with shelves of scowling latex heads, furry creatures and a pair of giant gators overlooking it all.
—Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2025
There were kind of two tracks at the time: There was Das Keyboard, aimed toward the more professional programmers and the geeks, and then the gaming keyboards.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for geek
Cite this Entry
“Geek.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geek. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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