English Explanatory Dictionary

dork

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A quirky, silly or stupid, socially inept person, or one who is out of touch with contemporary trends and typically has unfashionable hobbies. (Overlaps conceptually with nerd and geek, but does not imply the same level of intelligence.)
  2. The penis.
verb
  1. To act or behave in the manner of a dork.
  2. To act or behave in an awkward or clumsy manner.
noun
  1. Alternative form of dirk (“a long dagger”).

Pronunciation

/dɔːk/ /doɹk/ /doːk/ En-au-dork.ogg

Word forms

dork dorks dorking dorked

Etymology

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”).

Synonyms

dork flabbergast flabagast flabaghast gink nerd Nigel nosebleed dirk anaconda baloney pony bald-headed hermit banana birdie bobby boonga cack choad choda chode chopper cigar cock corey crank cucumber custard launcher D dick dicklet diddle diddly dingaling ding-a-ling ding-dong dinger dingle dingus dingy dink dinkle dipstick disco stick dog bone dong donger Donkey Kong doodle down fire hose fuckpole gherkin hairy canary hammer hog hot dog hot rod hoo-hoo hooter it

Antonyms

cool kid idol people person social butterfly sparkler

Related words

dweeb fool milksop outcast

Derived words

adorkable dorkazoid dorkdom dorkery dorkface dorkify dorkish dorklike dork out dorktastic dorkwad dorkwear dorky orch dork uberdork
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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