Nerd

/nɜːd/ · noun

Meaning

(slang, sometimes derogatory) A person who is intellectual but generally introverted..

Definitions by Sense

1. (slang, sometimes derogatory) A person who is intellectual but generally introverted.
2. (informal, sometimes derogatory) One who has an intense, obsessive interest in something.
3. (informal, sometimes derogatory) A member of a subculture revolving around intellectualism, technology, video games, fantasy and science fiction, comic books and assorted media. [from 1980s]
4. (informal, sometimes derogatory, dated) One who is stupid and socially inept or unattractive; a social outcast. [from 1970s until early 1990s]

Example Sentences

The bullies used to call him a nerd at school.

I once found myself listening to a gay man who was saying wistfully, "I wish there was someplace you could go, maybe a club, where only masculine men would be allowed in." […] Ever tactful, I did not point out to him that if such a place existed, he probably would not be allowed into it, for while he wasn't a campy sort he was too much of a nerd to meet his own specification.

"We were all geeks and nerds, but he was unusually poorly adjusted," recalls Chess, now a mathematics professor at Hunter College.

"Yes, I am super nerd, and the whole room cracked up," Said Orszag.

a computer nerd

a comic-book nerd

ALICE: Prithee , what might a nerd be ? GLORIA: A nerd is an idiot or other person absurd.

To much of the world, we in America are nerds. We don't understand the world we live in.

Synonyms for nerd

Antonyms for nerd

Related Words

Word Forms

• nerds
• knurd
• nurd

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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