dweeb
English
Etymology
From 1968 US college slang, probably related to feeb.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dwiːb/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -iːb
Noun
dweeb (plural dweebs)
- (US, originally university slang, now general slang, derogatory) A boring, studious, or socially inept person. [from 1968]
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dork
- 1994, Dexter Holland (lyrics and music), “Self Esteem”, in Smash, performed by The Offspring:
- I may be dumb, but I'm not a dweeb.
- 1996, Richard Stannard; Matt Rowe (lyrics and music), “If U Can't Dance”, in Spice, performed by Spice Girls:
- There never is a Keanu but a dweeb looking at me.
- 2005 June 13, Edmund White, “My Women”, in The New Yorker:
- No way, man, the biggest dweeb of them all with . . . Marilyn!
Usage notes
Although dweeb frequently involves some more sense of boring studiousness than dork, dweeb does not carry the connotations of actual intelligence or mastery of an (unimportant) subfield frequently intended by the similar nerd and geek.
Synonyms
- Nigel (Australia); see also Thesaurus:dork
Derived terms
- dweebery
- dweebish
- dweebness
- dweeby
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “dweeb”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
- bedew, bewed