noun
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a stupid or incompetent person
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a penis
Pop Culture
— King Dork: A coming-of-age novel by Frank Portman, first published in 2006. —Son of Dork: A pop punk band from the U.K. — Dork Tower: An online comic by John Kovalic.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dork
First recorded in 1960–65; origin uncertain; perhaps a variant of dirk ( def. ), influenced by dick ( def. )
Compare meaning
How does dork compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A dork is a socially inept person. If you started dancing the polka at a hip-hop club, you might well expect to hear "man, what a dork." Dork is one of many unkind names for the awkward or unpopular kids in school. Some others include dweeb, geek, goober, nerd, and weenie (try repeating that list really fast ten times). Most of these are not names you’d want to be called, although geek can denote a certain sense of pride in one’s uncoolness, or a proficiency in something useful.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Far Out Magazine called it an “incredible evolution”, Dork magazine praised its “delightfully rebellious” sound, and Golden Plectrum named Gartland a “blue-ribbon songwriter in the alt-pop universe”.
From BBC • Oct. 6, 2024
At Law Dork, journalist Chris Geidner pointed out that Kacsmaryk violated the requirements he claims to uphold in his own courtroom.
From Salon • Mar. 13, 2023
If anything, Folds is a proud member of Team Dork: a bespectacled boy next door.
From The Guardian • Aug. 28, 2019
Project Dork failed to convince military leaders that BZ was worth using on the battlefield, however, and Dr. Ketchum left Edgewood for another Army post in 1971.
From Washington Post • Jun. 4, 2019
She didn’t have to travel far—she found him in the living room, reading one of the Dork Diaries books.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
