geek

play

noun \ ˈgēk \

Definition of geek

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

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

3 :an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity

computer geek

—

geekdom

play \ˈgēk-dəm\ noun

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geekiness

noun

—

geeky

play \ˈgē-kē\ adjective

See geek defined for English-language learners

Examples of geek in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of geek from the Web

This monthly subscription box for geeks and gamers is always packed with cool stuff from your favorite titles, and professionally curated to be only the freshest, most relevant stuff for today.

— Indianapolis Star, "$12 Loot Crate Mystery Bundle," 23 Aug. 2017
They’re either the raging party girl or the studious library geek who never goes out.

— kate friedman, Glamour, "These 22 College Students Will Change Your Perspective on What It's Like to be a Young Woman in America Right Now," 23 Aug. 2017
Later that week, the Chicago Architecture Biennial opens, with experimental projects installed across the city - think Burning Man for design geeks.

— erin florio, CNT, "Why We're Heading to Chicago and Auckland Next," 22 Aug. 2017
The newspaper also built a calendar of happenings in space worth a subscription for astro geeks.

— evan bush, The Seattle Times, "5 things to know on the day after the eclipse: Relive the moment, recycle your glasses — or plan for next eclipse," 22 Aug. 2017
The Enquirer's geek-a-thon starts at 12:30 p.m. with a photography lesson and the distribution of 250 eclipse viewing glasses before the magic starts at 1 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

— kimberly armstrong, Cincinnati.com, "Where to watch Monday's solar eclipse for free around Greater Cincinnati," 17 Aug. 2017
Receo Gibson grew up in Chicago’s south suburbs on a steady diet of geek culture.

— leor galil, Chicago Reader, "Geek-culture rapper Sage, the 64th Wonder plants the flag for his south-suburban collective, Slumpgang777," 10 Aug. 2017
San Diego Convention Center: 111 Harbor Drive, downtown, comic-con.org 7.20-23 Comic-Con parties There is a huge mix of private, invite-only, and public parties going on to get your inner-geek freak on.

— leslie hackett, Pacific San Diego Magazine, "San Diego: This Weekend (July 20-23)," 20 July 2017
The dry rosés of Provence, once sought out only by wine geeks, struck pop culture gold in 2012 when former power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie purchased one of the region’s leading wine estates and later married on the property.

— marnie old, Philly.com, "Great Wine Values: M de Minuty Rosé Côtes de Provence, France," 19 July 2017

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.

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.

Origin and Etymology of geek

probably from English dialect geek, geck fool, from Low German geck, from Middle Low German

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1912

See Words from the same year

geek Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

anti-intellectual, lowbrow, philistine

Related Words

double-dome, egghead, highbrow, intellectual; brain, genius; academic, bookman, scholar; gearhead, techie

Near Antonyms

goldbrick, goof-off, slacker, underachiever; lowbrow

GEEK Defined for English Language Learners

geek

play

noun

Definition of geek for English Language Learners

: a person who is socially awkward and unpopular : a usually intelligent person who does not fit in with other people
: a person who is very interested in and knows a lot about a particular field or activity