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nerd
[ nurd ]
noun
- a single-minded person obsessed with a hobby or pursuit or with a particular topic:
My 13-year-old son is a computer nerd.
I joined a book club and discovered another Jane Austen nerd.
- a person considered to be socially awkward, boring, unstylish, etc.
verb (used without object)
- to spend inordinate amounts of time, attention, energy, enthusiasm, etc., on an activity or topic of special interest to oneself; geek:
I enjoy samurai movies, nerding about samurai movies, and the occasional slice of cake.
Don't cross the street while you're nerding on your phone—you're likely to get hit!
verb phrase
- to engage with excessive enthusiasm in a hobby or in discussion about a topic of special interest to oneself:
Back in the day, I nerded out hardcore over baseball cards.
We sat there for half an hour while she nerded out on the metaphysical poets.
- to alter or be altered in a way that shows excessive enthusiasm for a special interest:
He appears in that film nerded up as a philosophy genius.
I'm going to nerd up my office with these five Charlie Chaplin posters.
Wow, this simple conversation about cheese sure nerded up fast!
nerd
/ ɜː /
noun
- a boring or unpopular person, esp one obsessed with something specified
a computer nerd
- a stupid and feeble person
Derived Forms
- ˈԱ, adjective
- ˈԱ徱, adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of nerd1
Idioms and Phrases
- nerd it up, to indulge oneself without restraint in a hobby, game, etc., in which one has an obsessive interest:
Looking forward to nerding it up with everybody on Comic Trading Day at the store!
Compare Meanings
How does nerd compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Think of it as the social network for nature nerds.
He’s also been transformed into a stereotypical, lightsaber-brandishing nerd with a wardrobe of wacky T-shirts.
The nerds deserve a parade and coffee cake if they win.
Even many of his supporters expected Lurie, with his starched shirts and monotone voice, to approach the new job as more of a public policy nerd than a cheerleader-in-chief.
The hoarding tendencies of the self-proclaimed nerd have resulted in 165 visual and audio art exhibitions, including his traveling retrospective, “Myopia.”
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Related Words
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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