kook
Americannoun
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an eccentric, strange, or foolish person.
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an insane person.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of kook
First recorded in 1955–60; perhaps alteration of cuckoo
Explanation
A kook is a nut or a weirdo — in other words, an eccentric person. Your favorite aunt might be a bit of a kook, with her crazy hair and wild outfits. The class clown in school is often a kook, saying nutty things in order to get attention, and you may think of the guy in your town who always holds a sign saying, "THE END IS NEAR" as a kook too. The word comes from kooky, "strange," probably stemming from cuckoo, which is a type of bird but also slang for "mad or insane person."
Vocabulary lists containing kook
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.
Juxtaposing that with this Indiana Jones character, Theodore, who may be a kook or savior.
From Salon • Oct. 1, 2024
When you paddle out, it’s as though you’ve entered a new world with its own language that might sound like: “Did you see that kook? He snaked me on such a gnarly wave!”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 5, 2024
"The kook in me recognises the kook in you," she added.
From BBC • May 31, 2023
In the mainstream, he’s long been cast off as a kook.
From Slate • May 1, 2023
At last they roared into the city, Mr. Levy’s speed increasing as he felt himself getting closer to the Reilly kook.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
