geek

American  

[geek] / gik /

noun

geeks plural

1. a digital-technology expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often used disparagingly by others).

2. a person who has excessive enthusiasm for and some expertise about a specialized subject or activity.

   a foreign-film geek.

3. a peculiar person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual, unfashionable, or socially awkward.

4. a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.

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verb (used without object)

1. to be overexcited about a specialized subject or activity, or to talk about it with excessive enthusiasm (usually followed byout ).

   I could geek out about sci-fi for hours.

geek British  

/ ɡiːk /

noun

1. a person who is preoccupied with or very knowledgeable about computing

2. a boring and unattractive social misfit

3. a degenerate

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Usage

What is a geek? A geek is a person who is an expert or fan of technology and computers, as in He gave the assignment to the geeks in the IT department. Geek is also used more generally to refer to someone who is especially passionate or knowledgeable about something, as in Shawna is the biggest Star Trek geek I know, going to all the conventions. A geek is also someone who is judged to be too intelligent and socially awkward or just quirky or odd, especially in high school groups, as in At my high school, the geeks got along with the goths but hated the jocks. In the past, the word geek was used to refer specifically to a carnival performer who performed disgusting acts. Today, this usage is incredibly rare, and you can use geek as an insult or endearment, especially when describing yourself. Geek can be used as a verb to mean to express intense enthusiasm about something or to discuss it passionately, as in My friends were all geeking out about the new Spider-Man movie. Example: My dad has always been a baseball geek, telling me all of the stats and who the upcoming stars will be.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• geeky
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• geeks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of geek

First recorded in 1915–20; probably variant of geck (mainly Scots ) “fool,” from Dutch or Low German gek

Explanation

Geek is a slang term for someone who is really intelligent or knowledgeable, especially about a particular topic. If you're a Star Trek geek, you know absolutely everything about the famous television show and its spin-offs. Live long and prosper! Intelligence does more good than stupidity, so the negative way people sometimes use the term geek seems unfair. So if you're a geek when it comes to computers, chess, books, sports statistics, or just about anything — be proud! The Scottish root word geck translates as “fool,” and many famous geeks were called fools before their ideas changed the world. Remember, today’s geek is tomorrow’s billionaire.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

geek geeks

“Being a golf architecture geek, when you find information like that, it’s a treasure trove that you can’t help but get excited by.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

Economist Savvas Savouri is a self-confessed data geek: “I live and breathe numbers,” he says.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 15, 2026

But to my eyes, this fandom appears to be a place where anyone is welcome to fantasize, dream, draw, speculate or just plain geek out.

From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2026

“I’m a huge nerd geek dude. So, yes, I’ve seen ‘Incredibles’ a billion times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026

John Gutfreund was still the King of Wall Street and I was still a geek.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

These geeks – a term I use lovingly, for the most part – protected the notion of canon as fiercely as their lunchbox collections.

From Salon ● May 5, 2026

The problem for data geeks like Savouri, however, and for investors, is the increasingly unreliable raw material that governments are providing them.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 15, 2026

One corner of Sundance was just for the geeks: the Holiday Village Cinemas, a humble quadraplex that hosted press and industry screenings from breakfast till dark.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2026

Unfortunately for history geeks, there are no current plans to build a tunnel through the area just yet.

From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2026

These same qualities would cause me a lot of unnecessary heartbreak and grief in most of my adult relationships, but in high school, they set guys like Evan apart from the jocks and drama geeks.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Related Words

• buffoon
• freak
• nerd
• weirdo