# wonk

> English word · Noun · frequency rank #67,961

## Definitions
1. An overly studious person, particularly a student.
2. A policy wonk or other intellectual expert.

## Etymology
American English student slang 1954; perhaps navy slang before that. "Expert" sense popularized in the Clinton administration, 1993. Origin uncertain, possibly from wonky (“shaky, unreliable”) or wank, wanker or simply expressive.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wonk