quirk
Americannoun
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quirks
plural
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a peculiarity of action, behavior, or personality; mannerism.
He is full of strange quirks.
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a shift, subterfuge, or evasion; quibble.
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a sudden twist or turn.
He lost his money by a quirk of fate.
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a flourish or showy stroke, as in writing.
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Architecture.
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an acute angle or channel, as one dividing two parts of a molding or one dividing a flush bead from the adjoining surfaces.
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an area taken from a larger area, as a room or a plot of ground.
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an enclosure for this area.
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Obsolete. a clever or witty remark; quip.
adjective
noun
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an individual peculiarity of character; mannerism or foible
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an unexpected twist or turn
a quirk of fate
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a continuous groove in an architectural moulding
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a flourish, as in handwriting
Synonym Usage
See eccentricity.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of quirk
First recorded in 1540–50; origin uncertain
Explanation
A quirk is a unique, odd, and sometimes charming trait that makes a person stand out from the crowd. Country comedian Minnie Pearl was known for her quirk of wearing a $1.98 price tag dangling from her hat. A quirk can be an adorable little habit, like wearing flowery dresses and big sun bonnets or bow ties every day. Someone who has one or many quirks is said to be quirky — a little odd, but usually in a fun way. When it's not being used to describe people's unusual traits, quirk can mean a quick curve, or a groove, that runs along or separates the molding in a building.
Vocabulary lists containing quirk
40 SAT words Beginning with "Q"
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The Witch of Blackbird Pond
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The Poet X
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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:
Investors who rotated into the right beaten-down value and emerging-market funds this year ticked both boxes because they had a sound idea, but their big gains are partly a quirk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Adding further intrigue is the statistical quirk that five-time world champions Brazil have never beaten Norway in four attempts - drawing two and losing two.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
It’s a cruel quirk of fate, or maybe just a tragic irony, that we are celebrating America’s semiquincentennial during one of the most surreal periods in American history.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
One quirk of the trend is that hyperscalers are directly and indirectly helping to drive Micron’s operating income to such levels as their AI needs increase.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 28, 2026
With a quirk of his eyebrows, he bends and wraps an arm around my legs, throwing me over his shoulder.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
State and local tax quirks could also play a role in surprise bills.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
My last column, “How a Few Hot Stocks Can Make ‘Twin’ Funds Act Like Strangers,” looked at the quirks in the construction of growth and value index funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Through quirks of form and function, all other radio-ready music is incredibly focused on its immediate surroundings.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
One of the quirks of being a leader in the Belgium dressing room is language diversity.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The Vietnamese geek and the American geek are the same breed, containing the same amount of personality quirks you outlined in your articles.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
