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Synonyms

nerdy

American  
[nur-dee] / ˈnɜr di /

adjective

nerdier, nerdiest

  1. Slang. of or like a nerd.

Etymology

Origin of nerdy

First recorded in 1975–80; nerd + -y 1

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.

I fell in with a nerdy set—a small group of academically minded boys who carried their books in briefcases.

From The Wall Street Journal

Instantly, he felt humiliated for saying that—how nerdy could he be?

From Literature

In it, he played a nerdy, unkempt co-founder who gets left behind when the business takes off.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mr. Kimmel also hints at the wish fulfillment at the heart of the Jewish-penned superhero tales: As he observes, within their pages, “nerdy outsiders end up exhibiting enviable superpowers.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The artificial-intelligence investment theme can include a lot of hype about demand, colorful language about the future of work, incomprehensible descriptions of computing power, and technical jargon that would test even the nerdiest of experts.

From Barron's

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.