brainiac
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of brainiac
From Brainiac, a superintelligent, villainous alien in the Superman comics, probably brain + (man)iac
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.
Living up to his reputation as Cahiers’ brainiac bad boy, he pockets the office’s petty cash to road-trip to the Cannes premiere of Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2025
Revolori's amiable turn as the band's well-read brainiac keeps a group that primarily depends on edged weapons and acrobatics connected to its large-heartedness.
From Salon • Nov. 30, 2022
Over countless tweets, interviews and TV appearances, he’s positioned himself as a mad-scientist-cum-diplomat — a straight-talking brainiac willing to embrace regulation of his nascent industry and criticize its worst excesses.
From New York Times • May 14, 2022
Saying the NFL is America’s most popular sport isn’t exactly brainiac territory.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 23, 2021
I saw Annabeth playing trivia games and other brainiac stuff.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
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.
