nerd

American  

[nurd] / nɜrd /

Rarely 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.

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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!

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!

nerd British  

/ nɜːd /

noun

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

   a computer nerd

2. a stupid and feeble person

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Other Word Forms

• nerdish adjective
• nerdy adjective

Etymology

Origin of nerd

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

Compare meaning

How does nerd compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• dork vs. nerd

Explanation

If you hesitate to tell other people everything you know about computer programming, it might be because you're afraid they'll think you're a computer nerd, or someone with a single-minded interest in computers. The noun nerd is used to describe someone who is an expert in one particular thing, like computers, grammar, or "Star Wars" movies. Nerd can also mean someone lacking social skills, or a geeky, awkward person. The word nerd was popularized in the 1950s after showing up in the 1950 Dr. Seuss book "If I Ran the Zoo." A Dr. Seuss nerd would be sure to know this fact.

Example Sentences

Silicon Valley’s success and mythmaking long ago transformed the once-ridiculed computer nerd into the cool tech bro.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

Benjamin Brundage hadn’t always been a computer nerd.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Sentimental Value was named best international feature, and director Joachim Trier joked: "I'm just a film nerd from Norway, this means so much."

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

He continued, “I was a nerd — a real nerd. All the girls thought I was a jerk.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2026

She considered herself a die-hard book nerd, but she realized even she needed a break after doing nothing but reading for the past four days.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

Related Words

• geek