ENGLISH
REFERENCE

dork

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate UK //dˈɔːk// dork Archaic Slang Vulgar

n. a person who is socially awkward or obsessed with things that others find boring. It is a lighthearted way to call someone a nerd, though it can be a bit mean depending on your tone.

n. a socially inept or unfashionable person, often characterized by an obsessive interest in niche or intellectual topics. Informal in register; while historically an insult, it is frequently used affectionately among friends.


SIMPLE

He is such a dork when he talks about his stamp collection.

CONTEXTUAL

I felt like a total dork wearing a suit to a party where everyone else was in jeans.

COMPLEX

The protagonist is portrayed as a lovable dork whose encyclopedic knowledge of 1980s cinema eventually proves instrumental in solving the mystery that baffles the more socially adept characters.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

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”).

Etymology 2

Uncertain; apparently from Scots. See dirk.

Usage

Commonly used as a mild pejorative or a self-deprecating label.

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