English Reference

Phrasal verb

geek out

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.

Examples

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

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

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

Examples

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.”

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.

Phrasal verb

Particles

out

Separability

inseparable

Pattern

geek + out (+ over/about + object)

Synonyms

enthusenerd outgushobsess

Antonyms

show indifference

Grammar

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference