geek

noun

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
geekiness noun
geeky adjective

Did you know?

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

He was a real geek in high school. was quickly stereotyped as another computer geek
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The start of March is a great time for art lovers and science geeks in the Sacramento area. Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 24 Feb. 2025 This geek will make one bit of idle speculation here: That grassland planet that’s shown here? Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 24 Feb. 2025 Much is going right in Portland, except for those advocating for the tank — oh, and also for any geeks who realized Camara put the kibosh on a chance at history when the basketball rolled off his fingertips. Fred Katz, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025 Footage showing a previously unseen Chinese warplane scrambled aviation geeks Thursday, with some joking the clips were the perfect Christmas present. Colin Demarest, Axios, 26 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for geek

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1912, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of geek was in 1912

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Cite this Entry

“Geek.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geek. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.

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