whiz kid

¹

noun

, Informal.

1. a youthful and exceptionally intelligent, successful, or influential person in a given field:

   the whiz kid of network programming.

whiz-kid

²

[ hwiz-kid, wiz- ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or being a whiz kid:

   a whiz-kid sales manager.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whiz kid¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Origin of whiz kid²

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

To the end of his life, he had the aura of a nervous whiz kid with oversize glasses and frizzy hair.

From New York Times

Sapna Cheryan, a professor of psychology at the University of Washington who served a year on Mattel’s Barbie Global Advisory Council in 2018, said Asian Americans have long dealt with two stereotypes: the model-minority whiz kid or the perpetual foreigner.

From Seattle Times

The rift that cost artificial-intelligence whiz kid Sam Altman his CEO job at OpenAI reflects a fundamental difference of opinion over safety, broadly, between two camps developing the world-altering software and pondering its societal impact.

From Reuters

The rift that cost artificial-intelligence whiz kid Sam Altman his CEO job at OpenAI reflects a fundamental difference of opinion over safety, broadly, between two camps developing the world-altering software and pondering its societal impact.

From Reuters

The rift that cost artificial-intelligence whiz kid Sam Altman his CEO job at OpenAI reflects a fundamental difference of opinion over safety, broadly, between two camps developing the world-altering software and pondering its societal impact.

From Reuters