gawk

[ gawk ]

verb (used without object)

1. to stare stupidly; gape:

   The onlookers gawked at arriving celebrities.

   Synonyms: rubberneck, goggle, gaze, ogle, peer

noun

1. an awkward, foolish person.

gawk

/ ɡɔːk /

noun

1. a clumsy stupid person; lout

verb

1. intr to stare in a stupid way; gape

Word History and Origins

Origin of gawk¹

1775–85; apparently representing OE word meaning fool, equivalent to ga(gol) foolish + -oc -ock; used attributively in gawk hand, gallock hand left hand

Word History and Origins

Origin of gawk¹

C18: from Old Danish gaukr; probably related to gape

Example Sentences

Unfortunately, the same draws that make it a walkable gawk for touristas of every stripe makes it a frustrating exercise in perambulation for locals — kind of like New York’s Times Square with balmier weather.

From Los Angeles Times

Biopics should not be a lookalike contest, where audiences gawk at the screen, inspecting the performance with opera binoculars to see just how closely an actor can come to mirroring their real-life subject.

From Salon

Broken glass spills out onto the narrow hillside road where tourist buses and others slow down to gawk at the mansion that sits like a colorful disaster.

From Los Angeles Times

As she watched strangers gawk at the limp body and share videos online, she wished she had been able to put the bear to rest and sing him into the spirit world.

From Los Angeles Times

With the notable exception of this June’s Trump-Biden debate, in which Trump allowed a somnolent Joe Biden to gawk and mumble his way toward lame-duck status, most of the general-election debates in which Trump has participated since 2016 have been chaotic affairs.

From Slate

Related Words

• gape
• glare
• ogle