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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

dork.

A quirky, silly or stupid, socially inept person, or one who is out of touch with contemporary trends and typically has unfashionable hobbies. (Overlaps conceptually with nerd and geek, but does not imply the same level of intelligence.)

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/dɔːk/Received-Pronunciation/doɹk/Canada, General-American/doːk/Australia, New-Zealand

  1. A quirky, silly or stupid, socially inept person, or one who is out of touch with contemporary trends and typically has unfashionable hobbies. (Overlaps conceptually with nerd and geek, but does not imply the same level of intelligence.)

    derogatory · slang

  2. The penis.

    slang · vulgar
Where this word comes from

First use appears in the US c. 1961. The sense of a "silly person" is presumably from earlier use as a bowdlerization of dick (“penis”) in student slang, particularly the Midwest. Despite a common misconception, it has never referred specifically to a whale's penis, but penises in general. Alternative etymology derives from dialectal Norwegian dorg (“a mass; heap; a heavy, dimwitted, slovenly person”).

verb/dɔːk/Received-Pronunciation/doɹk/Canada, General-American/doːk/Australia, New-Zealand

  1. To act or behave in the manner of a dork.

    intransitive · slang · uncommon

  2. To act or behave in an awkward or clumsy manner.

    intransitive · slang · uncommon
Where this word comes from

First use appears in the US c. 1961. The sense of a "silly person" is presumably from earlier use as a bowdlerization of dick (“penis”) in student slang, particularly the Midwest. Despite a common misconception, it has never referred specifically to a whale's penis, but penises in general. Alternative etymology derives from dialectal Norwegian dorg (“a mass; heap; a heavy, dimwitted, slovenly person”).

noun

  1. Alternative form of dirk (“a long dagger”).

    alt-of · alternative · archaic
Where this word comes from

Uncertain; apparently from Scots. See dirk.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.