kook

noun

ˈkük How to pronounce kook (audio)
Synonyms of kooknext
: one whose ideas or actions are eccentric, fantastic, or insane : screwball

Synonyms of kook

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of kook in a Sentence

a bunch of kooks dressed up in weird costumes if you insist on painting your house bright orange, everyone will assume you are a kook
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Not the crazy aunt/spell-casting kook who’s going to be film fans’ top Halloween costume this year. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2025 Halaena can tell that something’s up with mummy, but that kook’s never been too concerned with matters of court. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 22 June 2026 What so many of these talking heads have in common—legitimate experts, well-meaning journalists, and kooks alike—is how costly their recommendations are. — CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026 Over the years, the term has come to have a slightly pejorative slant, signifying a marginal kook who never quite made it into leading-lady territory. — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for kook

Word History

Etymology

by shortening & alteration from cuckoo

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kook was in 1922

Rhymes for kook

See All Rhymes for kook

Browse Nearby Words

koofah
kook
kookaburra
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Kook.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kook. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

kook

noun
ˈkük How to pronounce kook (audio)
: a person who acts in a strange or foolish way : nut
kooky
ˈkü-kē
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on kook

Nglish: Translation of kook for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All