Synonyms

nerdy

American

[nur-dee] / ˈnɜr di /

adjective

Slang. of or like a nerd.

Other Word Forms

Adjective Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of nerdy

First recorded in 1975–80; nerd + -y ¹

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.

See Examples For:

nerdy nerdier nerdiest

The co-CEOs tried to foster a culture of nerdy comity, pitching Two Sigma as the “best place for nice geeks to work.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

I found him quirky, introspective, and slightly nerdy.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

"I suppose you've got to be a bit nerdy," he says, explaining he takes a magnifying glass with him diving.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Inflation watchers in the private sector said the BEA move was justified, but they faulted the agency for not giving the public a heads up, even for such a nerdy statistical thing.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

Like maybe this nerdy dude can stick around if he wants.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

And then, look, I think we’ve had a lot of fun talking about some of the nerdier aspects of this platform.

From New York Times ● May 5, 2023

But by the time the third generation took over the business, guitars dominated, and nothing was nerdier than playing accordion.

From Seattle Times ● May 20, 2022

So, Apple’s making its initial play with a wild spending spree on big name creators and with a content slate designed to be more wholesome and nerdier than its competitors’.

From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2019

By his own admission Yang grew up “like one of the kids on Stranger Things but nerdier and with fewer friends”.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 8, 2019

So we could also talk about our dads, try to figure out which one is nerdier.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

No AL team had bunted this often since 2011, meaning the nerdiest organization in the sport has brought back a play that data wonks spent a quarter-century trying to eliminate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Next to them, Colbert plied his art slyly, even mildly, but regularly and in ways the nerdiest students of comedy could appreciate.

From Salon ● May 21, 2026

The artificial-intelligence investment theme can include a lot of hype about demand, colorful language about the future of work, incomprehensible descriptions of computing power, and technical jargon that would test even the nerdiest of experts.

From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026