geek

American  

[geek] / gik /

noun

• geeks
  plural

1. a digital-technology expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often used disparagingly by others).

2. a person who has excessive enthusiasm for and some expertise about a specialized subject or activity.

   a foreign-film geek.

3. a peculiar person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual, unfashionable, or socially awkward.

4. a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.

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verb (used without object)

1. to be overexcited about a specialized subject or activity, or to talk about it with excessive enthusiasm (usually followed byout ).

   I could geek out about sci-fi for hours.

geek British  

/ ɡiːk /

noun

1. a person who is preoccupied with or very knowledgeable about computing

2. a boring and unattractive social misfit

3. a degenerate

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Usage

What is a geek? A geek is a person who is an expert or fan of technology and computers, as in He gave the assignment to the geeks in the IT department. Geek is also used more generally to refer to someone who is especially passionate or knowledgeable about something, as in Shawna is the biggest Star Trek geek I know, going to all the conventions. A geek is also someone who is judged to be too intelligent and socially awkward or just quirky or odd, especially in high school groups, as in At my high school, the geeks got along with the goths but hated the jocks. In the past, the word geek was used to refer specifically to a carnival performer who performed disgusting acts. Today, this usage is incredibly rare, and you can use geek as an insult or endearment, especially when describing yourself. Geek can be used as a verb to mean to express intense enthusiasm about something or to discuss it passionately, as in My friends were all geeking out about the new Spider-Man movie. Example: My dad has always been a baseball geek, telling me all of the stats and who the upcoming stars will be.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• geeky
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• geeks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of geek

First recorded in 1915–20; probably variant of geck (mainly Scots ) “fool,” from Dutch or Low German gek

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Explanation

Geek is a slang term for someone who is really intelligent or knowledgeable, especially about a particular topic. If you're a Star Trek geek, you know absolutely everything about the famous television show and its spin-offs. Live long and prosper! Intelligence does more good than stupidity, so the negative way people sometimes use the term geek seems unfair. So if you're a geek when it comes to computers, chess, books, sports statistics, or just about anything — be proud! The Scottish root word geck translates as “fool,” and many famous geeks were called fools before their ideas changed the world. Remember, today’s geek is tomorrow’s billionaire.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

geek geeks

If you’ve heard of Schlesinger at all — and aren’t a power-pop geek or a “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” superfan — it was likely through his band Fountains of Wayne and their 2003 hit “Stacy’s Mom.”

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

“Being a golf architecture geek, when you find information like that, it’s a treasure trove that you can’t help but get excited by.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

Economist Savvas Savouri is a self-confessed data geek: “I live and breathe numbers,” he says.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 15, 2026

Intelligent, funny, curious and humble, Gosling’s Grace is essentially a clone of the character Matt Damon played in 2015’s “The Martian,” a geek you want to grab an intergalactic beer with.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026

Daniel was two grades above me and a real computer geek; he even had a CD writer at home, back when nobody had CD writers.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

Many of their abilities are, for now, locked behind a level of complexity that only die-hard geeks can get past.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

How President Thomas Jefferson became one of America's early 'weather geeks'

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

The problem for data geeks like Savouri, however, and for investors, is the increasingly unreliable raw material that governments are providing them.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 15, 2026

Privacy geeks have been warning of this moment for decades, not just in the realms of science fiction, but even on the pages of Salon, back when a digital magazine was a novel idea.

From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2026

I could not bring you, but I have no problem telling you what I saw—the entire diaspora around me—hustlers, lawyers, Kappas, busters, doctors, barbers, Deltas, drunkards, geeks, and nerds.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

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Related Words

• buffoon
• freak
• nerd
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