Synonyms

egghead

American

[eg-hed] / ˈɛgˌhɛd /

noun

Slang: Usually Disparaging.

an intellectual.

egghead British

/ ˈɛɡˌhɛd /

noun

informal an intellectual; highbrow

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Sensitive Note

This term is usually used with disparaging intent, implying that an intellectual is out-of-touch with ordinary people. Though first used by journalists to insult editorial writers, egghead was popularized as an epithet of Adlai Stevenson, the 1952 Democratic presidential candidate.

Etymology

Origin of egghead

1915–20; egg ¹ + head; by analogy with someone who is bald

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Even so, a stable-dollar policy would face opposition from the economics community—the “eggheads,” as Mr.

From The Wall Street Journal

And finally, they’ll be able to answer a question that Ivy League eggheads have been pondering for a century.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, she says it soon transpired "they weren't quite the eggheads we thought they were".

From BBC

Which is a reminder even to the eggheads that no one has ever won the Ryder Cup on a spreadsheet.

From The Wall Street Journal

Last, it essentially represents a bunch of elite eggheads saying “trust us, we’re different now” when no one trusts them.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023