Definition of brainiac
: a very intelligent person
From the M-W Editors
brainiac was our Word of the Day on 06/01/2010. Hear the podcast!
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Examples of brainiac in a Sentence
a techie who always has to have the latest gadget that the brainiacs in Silicon Valley have cooked up
Recent Examples of brainiac from the Web
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Now, because the Redmond brainiacs can’t (or won’t) manage that mess, those servers are going dark.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brainiac'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
As Superman fans know, "Brainiac" was the superintelligent villain in the Action Comics series and its spin-offs. You don't need x-ray vision to see the connection here - etymologists think Superman's brainy adversary was probably the inspiration for our term "brainiac." We didn't coin the term right away though. The comic-book series was launched in 1938, and the general use of "brainiac" was first recorded in print in 1982.
Origin and Etymology of brainiac
probably from Brainiac, superintelligent villain in the Superman comic-book series
First Known Use: 1975
BRAINIAC Defined for English Language Learners
brainiac
playDefinition of brainiac for English Language Learners
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: a very intelligent person
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