dork
/doɹk/noun, verb
dork is spelled D-O-R-K: 4 letters. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a derogatory noun, dork means “A quirky, silly or stupid, socially inept person, or one who is out of touch with contemporary trends and typically has unfashionable hobbies.…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dork is dorks.
How many letters and syllables are in dork?
| Letters | 4: D-O-R-K |
|---|---|
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is dork?
Dork appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dork?
- UK /dɔːk/
- US /doɹk/
- Australia /doːk/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-dork.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with dork
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with dork?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as dork from its last stressed vowel (/oɹk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of dork
- dorks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- dorking participle, present
- dorked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dork mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
derogatoryslangA 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 didn’t have any clothes and I had short hair and looked like a dork. Girls wouldn’t go out with me.
- 2
slangvulgarThe penis.
verb
- 1
slangTo act or behave in the manner of a dork.
- 2
slangTo act or behave in an awkward or clumsy manner.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dork in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dork come 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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).