quirk
Americannoun
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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
Related Words
See eccentricity.
Other Word Forms
- quirkily adverb
- quirkiness noun
- quirky adjective
Etymology
Origin of quirk
First recorded in 1540–50; origin uncertain
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.
Every character has an adorable quirk or two, or at minimum owns a dorky T-shirt with a periodic table joke or a cartoon cat.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
The paper also claimed Quidnet "did not pass the technical tests for Reit status at the time and never did", and had gained the status instead through a "legal quirk".
From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026
In a quirk, U.S. exports of gold more than doubled last year to $84 billion.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 19, 2026
Shane replies with a slight quirk of his lip.
From Salon • Feb. 15, 2026
By a strange quirk of fate, this ambitious choral composer found himself working in the one building in the world which, by dint of its architecture, was responsible for a new style of choral music.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
