Greek

American  

[greek] / grik /

adjective

1. of or relating to Greece, the Greeks, or their language.

2. pertaining to the Greek Orthodox Church.

3. noting or pertaining to the alphabetic script derived from a Semitic form of writing, employing some letters that originally represented consonants for use as vowel sounds, which was used from about the beginning of the first millennium b.c. for the writing of Greek, and from which the Latin, Cyrillic, and other alphabets were derived.

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noun

• Greeks
  plural

1. a native or inhabitant of Greece.

2. the language of the ancient Greeks and any of the languages that have developed from it, as Hellenistic Greek, Biblical Greek, the Koine, and Modern Greek. Gk, Gk.

3. Informal. anything unintelligible, as speech, writing, etc..

   This contract is all Greek to me.

4. a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.

5. Hellenic.

6. a person who belongs to a Greek-letter fraternity or sorority.

7. Archaic: Usually Offensive. a cheater, especially one who cheats at cards.

Greek British  

/ ɡriːk /

noun

1. the official language of Greece, constituting the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages See Ancient Greek Late Greek Medieval Greek Modern Greek

2. a native or inhabitant of Greece or a descendant of such a native

3. a member of the Greek Orthodox Church

4. informal anything incomprehensible (esp in the phrase it's ( all ) Greek to me )

5. equals meet

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adjective

1. denoting, relating to, or characteristic of Greece, the Greeks, or the Greek language; Hellenic

2. of, relating to, or designating the Greek Orthodox Church

Sensitive Note

The noun Greek in its archaic meaning of “cheater” is usually perceived as insulting to or by Greeks.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Greekdom
  noun
• Greekness
  noun
• Greekish
  adjective
• anti-Greek
  adjective
• half-Greek
  adjective
• non-Greek
  adjective
• pre-Greek
  adjective
• pro-Greek
  adjective
• pseudo-Greek
  adjective
• quasi-Greek
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Greeks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of Greek

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English Grēcas (plural) from Latin Graecī “the Greeks” (nominative plural of Graecus ) from Greek Graikoí, plural of Graikós Greek

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Greek Greeks

He named the resulting microscope Theia, after the ancient Greek Titaness associated with light and radiance.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026

Arsenal signed Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge in the summer and the Greek international had been the first-choice winger for Mikel Arteta this season, until he picked up a hamstring injury on international duty.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

Go Greek is a big favorite of ours, and it’s crazy busy in the evenings, but it’s definitely worth waiting for.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

At Cornell, Greek life is a way, say proponents, to make its size more manageable for students.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

As Greek archaeologist Theotokis Theodoulou proclaimed, “This is the cradle of underwater archaeology.”

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Mr. Rubio characterized this relentless struggle—fueled by what the Greeks called thumos, “the fire of passion, strength, courage, pride”—as the “heart of great civilization.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

There’s a not-so-subtle message in that genesis myth explaining the compulsion for men to dismiss a woman’s anger, however the Greeks might define it, even if you don’t interpret it as such.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026

“Like the Greeks, Ibsen uses the family as an image of society,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

"And that's not just writers who continually return to the Greeks and Romans -- the history, the myths, the characters, the events -- that's also readers. These are ripping good yarns."

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

It simply didn’t make any sense to the Greeks.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

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