nerd

Rarely nurd

[nurd]

noun

1. a single-minded person obsessed with a hobby or pursuit or with a particular topic.

   My 13-year-old son is a computer nerd.

   I joined a book club and discovered another Jane Austen nerd.

2. a person considered to be socially awkward, boring, unstylish, etc.

verb (used without object)

1. to spend inordinate amounts of time, attention, energy, enthusiasm, etc., on an activity or topic of special interest to oneself; geek.

   I enjoy samurai movies, nerding about samurai movies, and the occasional slice of cake.

   Don't cross the street while you're nerding on your phone—you're likely to get hit!

verb phrase

1. nerd out,  to engage with excessive enthusiasm in a hobby or in discussion about a topic of special interest to oneself.

   Back in the day, I nerded out hardcore over baseball cards.

   We sat there for half an hour while she nerded out on the metaphysical poets.

2. nerd up,  to alter or be altered in a way that shows excessive enthusiasm for a special interest.

   He appears in that film nerded up as a philosophy genius.

   I'm going to nerd up my office with these five Charlie Chaplin posters.

   Wow, this simple conversation about cheese sure nerded up fast!

nerd

/ nɜːd /

noun

1. a boring or unpopular person, esp one obsessed with something specified

   a computer nerd

2. a stupid and feeble person

Other Word Forms

• nerdy adjective
• nerdish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nerd¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1950–55; obscurely derived expressive formation

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. nerd it up, to indulge oneself without restraint in a hobby, game, etc., in which one has an obsessive interest.

   Looking forward to nerding it up with everybody on Comic Trading Day at the store!

Example Sentences

Keyboard nerds know: Mechanical keys are faster and more fun to type on.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Tartaglia, who grew up watching the original series, says he never thought his “nerd knowledge” would pay off in this way.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It’s all a bit rattling to typography nerds, some of whom don’t want to see their art form used by businesses to font-wash their reputations.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"My husband knows I'm a massive history nerd. He's very happy for me to just go off on a Sunday and do my thing. It's just what I love to do."

Read more on BBC

Long before he found himself in the middle of a multibillion-dollar takeover battle for a coveted new weight-loss drug, Whit Bernard was a music nerd.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• geek