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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
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 8 Mar. 2025
For the coffee geeks: Julie Wolfson has the story on a new monthly coffee subscription launched this week by Noma in Copenhagen.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2025
Matthew is a geek playing a geek, and those orbs of his take everything in.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 29 Jan. 2025
Elon Musk has long sought to augment his Silicon Valley celebrity with gamer cred, professing both skill and passion for a medium favored by tech geeks.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 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 Mar. 2025.
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