geek
/ɡik/noun, verb
geek is spelled G-E-E-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, geek means “A carnival performer specializing in bizarre and unappetizing behavior” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of geek is geeks.
How many letters and syllables are in geek?
| Letters | 4: G-E-E-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 4.1 times per million words; the 12,764th 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 geek?
Geek appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th 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 geek?
- UK /ɡiːk/
- US /ɡik/
Geek has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: EN-AU_ck1_geek.ogg, En-us-geek.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with geek?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as geek from its last stressed vowel (/ik/):
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 geek
- geeks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- geeking participle, present
- geeked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does geek mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
datedA carnival performer specializing in bizarre and unappetizing behavior.
I once saw a geek bite the head off a live chicken.
- 2
colloquialA person who is intensely interested in a particular field or hobby and often having limited or nonstandard social skills. Often used with an attributive noun.
I was a complete computer geek in high school, but I get out a lot more now.
- 3
colloquialAn expert in a technical field, particularly one having to do with computers.
My laptop’s locked up again. I need a geek.
- 4
colloquialThe subculture of geeks; an esoteric subject of interest that is marginal to the social mainstream; the philosophy, events, and physical artifacts of geeks; geekness.
- 5
colloquialAn unfashionable or socially undesirable person.
Why do you hang around with them? They’re just geeks.
- 6
AustraliacolloquialA look.
Have a geek at this.
verb
- 1
To perform bizarre and unpleasant feats as part of a carnival.
- 2
colloquialTo enthusiastically engage in geek-like or nerdy interests.
It was our first time at a Star Trek convention and we had an amazing time wandering around and geeking.
- 3
slangTo be nervous or hyperactive due to using crack cocaine.
- 4
slangTo be under the influence of a mood-altering drug.
- 5
To look; to peep; to stare about intently.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Geek in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | geek |
| German | Geek, Freak, Spezialist , Straßenkünstler |
| Portuguese | geek |
| Spanish | computín , friki, flipado, chiflado |
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 geek come from?
Started as carnival slang, likely from the British dialectal term geck (“a fool, dupe, simpleton”) (1510s), apparently from Dutch gek or Low German geck, from an imitative verb found in North Sea Germanic and Scandinavian meaning "to croak, cackle," and also "to mock, cheat" (Dutch gekken, German gecken, Danish gække, Norwegian gakke, Swedish gäcka). The root still survives in the Dutch adjective noun gek (“crazy" or "crazy person”). Compare gink and also Old Norse gikkr (“a pert, rude person; jester; fool”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).