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gawk
[gawk]
verb (used without object)
to stare stupidly; gape.
The onlookers gawked at arriving celebrities.
Synonyms: , , , ,
noun
an awkward, foolish person.
gawk
/ ɡɔː /
noun
a clumsy stupid person; lout
verb
(intr) to stare in a stupid way; gape
51Թ History and Origins
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of gawk1
Example Sentences
Normally closed to the public, these inspiring gardens have a lot to gawk at.
The explosion happens in slow motion, allowing viewers to gawk at all of DeYoung’s shrewdly constructed, cinematic shrapnel.
But does a film like “Another Simple Favor” need the peak of its action to be the best part when so many zany, outrageous things have left us gawking and in awe?
But if past habits hold, we may never be done with gawking at the well-heeled.
We gawked at the sea creatures — lobsters, soft-shell turtles, wriggling live eels — while she filled the cart.
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When To Use
We've all gawked, or "stared stupidly," at various spectacles, from acrobats to celebrity meltdowns.51Թ 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 51Թs That We Don’t Know Where They Came From."
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