A person who likes technical and scientific work and is typically introspective and sometimes antisocial. The origin of the term is sometimes attributed to an angry little man in Dr. Seuss's book "If I Ran the Zoo" in 1950. After the huge number of high-tech success stories in the 1990s, nerds made quite a leap forward in the social pecking order. The terms "nerd" and "geek" are used synonymously. See
geek,
nerd bird,
entreprenerd and
Nerd Street.
Alan Freedman - Classic Nerd
With his wiring rack and plugboards, the author of this encyclopedia was a lucky guy in 1962. After only two years in his career, he could sit from time to time instead of standing at a punch card machine all day.
Five Decades Later
Along the way, Freedman developed many social skills, although still loving technology and a nerd at heart.
An Alternate Spelling
No matter how you spell it, nerds are here to stay.