dork

noun

ˈdȯrk How to pronounce dork (audio)
Definition of dorknext
slang
1
as in nerd
a person slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits we became friends when we discovered we were both dorks who had memorized the periodic table in high school

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in idiot
a stupid person he tried to be suave, but she still thought he was a dork

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dork At first, the slogan was seen as a rallying cry for dorks with expendable income. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 10 July 2026 The young ensign who, after seven seasons, remained an Ensign, Harry Kim was kind of the dork of the show, which is saying something for Star Trek. — Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 4 July 2026 The movie concludes the issue wasn't technology, but that Bonnie simply needed to find like-minded people who are, no offense, huge dorks like her. — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 20 June 2026 Swiping through profiles on your handset is so much sexier than finding dates on your computer like a dork. — Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 17 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for dork
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dork
  1. nerd
  2. moron
  3. geek
  4. stupid
Noun
  • On Monday morning, the world's econ nerds tuned in to an announcement from Sweden to learn who won this year's Nobel Prize in economics.
    — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The problem is when the self-importance of festival political activism crosses wires with these horror nerds.
    — Joseph Kahn, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of nerd
Noun
  • The unlikely source is Enervate’s company stooge corporate strategist, Ken Davies (Tim Key), a moron by any measure.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026
  • God help us all if some idiot, some moron, ever put you in charge.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 July 2026
Definition of moron
Noun
  • In recent weeks, a number of states have been winning multibillion-dollar settlements from the computer geeks.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Sure, something interesting might eventually happen, but no one outside of a few Canadian space geeks was paying much attention.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of geek
Noun
  • My dad has always said the lottery is a tax on the stupid.
    — Alex Crippen, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2026
  • Problem is, even people who know baseball don’t know baseball, which makes betting on baseball stupid.
    — Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Definition of stupid

Browse Nearby Words

dories
dork
dorkiness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dork.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dork. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fervid

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All