geek.
A carnival performer specializing in bizarre and unappetizing behavior.
Meaning & usage
A carnival performer specializing in bizarre and unappetizing behavior.
I once saw a geek bite the head off a live chicken.
A person who is intensely interested in a particular field or hobby and often having limited or nonstandard social skills. Often used with an attributive noun.
I was a complete computer geek in high school, but I get out a lot more now.
Most famous actors are really theater geeks at heart.
An expert in a technical field, particularly one having to do with computers.
My laptop’s locked up again. I need a geek.
The subculture of geeks; an esoteric subject of interest that is marginal to the social mainstream; the philosophy, events, and physical artifacts of geeks; geekness.
An unfashionable or socially undesirable person.
Why do you hang around with them? They’re just geeks.
Where this word comes from
Started as carnival slang, likely from the British dialectal term geck (“a fool, dupe, simpleton”) (1510s), apparently from Dutch gek or Low German geck, from an imitative verb found in North Sea Germanic and Scandinavian meaning "to croak, cackle," and also "to mock, cheat" (Dutch gekken, German gecken, Danish gække, Norwegian gakke, Swedish gäcka). The root still survives in the Dutch adjective noun gek (“crazy" or "crazy person”). Compare gink and also Old Norse gikkr (“a pert, rude person; jester; fool”).
To perform bizarre and unpleasant feats as part of a carnival.
To enthusiastically engage in geek-like or nerdy interests.
It was our first time at a Star Trek convention and we had an amazing time wandering around and geeking.
To be nervous or hyperactive due to using crack cocaine.
To be nervous or hyperactive due to using crack cocaine. To be under the influence of a mood-altering drug.
Where this word comes from
Started as carnival slang, likely from the British dialectal term geck (“a fool, dupe, simpleton”) (1510s), apparently from Dutch gek or Low German geck, from an imitative verb found in North Sea Germanic and Scandinavian meaning "to croak, cackle," and also "to mock, cheat" (Dutch gekken, German gecken, Danish gække, Norwegian gakke, Swedish gäcka). The root still survives in the Dutch adjective noun gek (“crazy" or "crazy person”). Compare gink and also Old Norse gikkr (“a pert, rude person; jester; fool”).
A look.
Have a geek at this.
Where this word comes from
Probably related to keek. Compare German gucken (“look”), kieken (“look”) and the dialectal corruption of Dutch keek (“keek”) (from kijk (“look”)), kijken (“to look”). Australian use from Cornish dialect.
To look; to peep; to stare about intently.
Where this word comes from
Probably related to keek. Compare German gucken (“look”), kieken (“look”) and the dialectal corruption of Dutch keek (“keek”) (from kijk (“look”)), kijken (“to look”). Australian use from Cornish dialect.
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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.