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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
If I looked like a dork, at least I could zoom quickly past the judgment.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
It was nice to see Jeremy Strong, who, hilariously, plays off the perception of him as a no-fun dork on set.
From Slate • Feb. 10, 2025
SWEEENEY: How much of a dork I am.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2024
Jeff is so wonderfully characterized as a huge dork.
From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2023
“I won’t. I will keep up your disguise as a big dork, when in fact you’d be like the most popular girl in school.”
From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon
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.
