gawk
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
noun
verb
Usage
Where does the word gawk come from? We've all gawked, or "stared stupidly," at various spectacles, from acrobats to celebrity meltdowns.Word nerds gawk at the origin of gawk—because it's a spectacular puzzle.Gawk is recorded in 1775–85 in American English. It's believed that gawk is based on an Old English word meaning "fool," which appears in gawk hand or gallock hand, referring to the left hand. Our apologies, lefties.An alternative idea is that gawk is based on gaw, an old word meaning "to gaze, stare," with an additional -k suffix found in other words such as talk and stalk.Stubborn isn’t alone: it finds lots of company in other English words that seem simple but whose origins are not. Discover more in our slideshow “‘Dog,’ ‘Boy,’ And Other Words That We Don’t Know Where They Came From."
Etymology
Origin of gawk
1775–85; apparently representing OE word meaning fool, equivalent to ga(gol) foolish + -oc -ock; used attributively in gawk hand, gallock hand left hand
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.
"It's actually like looking at a digital image of your new dinosaur and gawking over it in the tent in the middle of the Sahara."
From Barron's
The sisters’ presence near Hydesville encouraged daily crowds, who rode out to gawk at the original Fox cottage, then continue on to David’s farm to see the Fox girls in person.
From Literature
When I did think about them, I said, “Holy smokes, Rowdy, we better stop this gawking around and get on to the store. Grandpa will think that we’re never coming.”
From Literature
Comedian Daniel Tosh even parlayed a desire to gawk at the web’s inept and unaware into a vicious update of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” that aired on Comedy Central for years.
From Salon
Another gawked in horror as a squealing toddler tore through the store while their mom examined the chocolate moon rocks.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
