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Glite Dictionary
to be a neek

to be a neek

9.9
Behave in a socially awkward and uncool way by focusing only on studying
  • phrasal verb
  • Offensive
translation icon : ser un empollón
  • He was worried that he might be a neek if he spent all his time studying instead of socializing.

Examples

  • She tends to be a neek when it comes to fashion.

  • Don't be a neek at the party!

  • He didn't want to be a neek, so he went to the party.

  • If you don't relax a little, people will say you be a neek.

  • Stop acting like you be a neek and just join in the game!

  • To avoid looking like a total geek, she decided not to be a neek at the trendy event.

  • If you keep acting so serious, you might end up being a neek in front of your friends.

Antonyms

cool
  • Informal
∞ 2.2

Fashionable and attractive to many people

How Socially Awkward

outcast
81 5.1
to be a neek
  • Offensive
9.9
awkward
311 2.7
uncool
  • Informal
40 7.4
to fit in
172 3.0

Surface Forms

be a neek infinitive
was a neek past
been a neek past participle
being a neek present participle
is a neek third person singular

Morphology

be + a + neek

Although the grammatical frame 'be a …' is transparent, the crucial noun 'neek' is slang/dialectal and not analyzable from its parts or common English morphology. A B1 learner who only knows 'be' and 'a' would not be able to infer the specific meaning 'socially awkward/uncool' without prior exposure, so the expression is idiomatic and unpredictable.

Etymology

Be a neek probably comes from mixing the words nerd and geek, so picture someone who loves books and rules more than parties. That's why saying be a neek means 'to behave in a socially awkward or uncool way'.