ENGLISH
REFERENCE

geek out

phrasal verb.
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford Informal
Definition

phrasal verb. to talk or act with a lot of excitement about a specific topic you love, like technology, movies, or science.

phrasal verb. to behave in an enthusiastic or obsessive manner about a niche subject; often involves discussing technical details that others might find obscure.


SIMPLE

We spent the whole night geeking out over the new space photos.

CONTEXTUAL

Whenever the two of them get together, they geek out about vintage comic books for hours.

COMPLEX

It was refreshing to see the professor geek out over the discovery of a minor grammatical anomaly in the medieval manuscript.

  • show indifference
Particles
out
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
geek + out (+ over/about + object)
Usage

usually followed by the preposition 'over' or 'about' to indicate the subject of interest.

Teaching tip

point out that while 'geek' was once an insult, 'geek out' is now often used with pride to show deep passion for a hobby.

Pitfall

He was geeking out the new software.He was geeking out over the new software.this phrasal verb requires a preposition like 'over' or 'about' before the object.

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