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dork

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dork¹

  • /dɔːk/ UK
  • /doɹk/ Canada, US
  • /doːk/ Australia, New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k

Where it comes from

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”).

noun dorks

  1. derogatory, slang 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.) I entitled the piece "Dorky", dork being slang for a person who does not belong to popular groups, usually an outsider, an odd person, sometimes inept, other times cranky.

    Similar: dirk

  2. slang, vulgar The penis. As a matter of fact, this slob was full of information today. He told me why we Jews have different dorks.

    Similar: dirk, anaconda, baloney pony, bald-headed hermit, banana, bird, birdie, bobby, boonga, cack, choad, choda

Similar: dork, flabbergast, flabagast, flabaghast, gink, nerd, Nigel, nosebleed · Opposite: cool kid, idol, people person, social butterfly, sparkler

verb dorks · dorking · dorked

  1. intransitive, slang, uncommon To act or behave in the manner of a dork.
  2. intransitive, slang, uncommon To act or behave in an awkward or clumsy manner. I spent all weekend dorking with the router settings with no luck, though I could get any one out of my 5 PCs on the net when connected directly to the modem.

dork²

Where it comes from

Uncertain; apparently from Scots. See dirk.

noun dorks

  1. alternative, archaic Alternative form of dirk (“a long dagger”).

Similar: dork, flabbergast, flabagast, flabaghast, gink, nerd, Nigel, nosebleed · Opposite: cool kid, idol, people person, social butterfly, sparkler

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: jerk, nerd, smartass, phoney, mug, bimbo, skank, redneck, hick, hillbilly, punk, weirdo, geek, ridiculous, silly, freak

noun

Similar: dork, flabbergast, flabagast, flabaghast, gink, nerd, Nigel, nosebleed · Opposite: cool kid, idol, people person, social butterfly, sparkler

noun

Similar: dork, flabbergast, flabagast, flabaghast, gink, nerd, Nigel, nosebleed · Opposite: cool kid, idol, people person, social butterfly, sparkler

Translations

Every language

noun a quirky, silly, or stupid socially inept person, or one who is out of touch with contemporary trends

Portuguêscromo
DeutschTrottel, Depp, Idiot
Italianocoglione

noun vulgar, slang: penis

DeutschPimmel, Rute, Schwanz
Русскийхуй xuj, хер xer, елда́ jeldá

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MLA

"dork." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dork. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

dork. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dork

Chicago

"dork." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dork.

BibTeX
@misc{dork_2026,
  title = {dork},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dork},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}