grok
verbUK /ˈɡɹɒk/ · US /ˈɡɹɑk/
Etymology Coined by American author and aeronautical engineer Robert A. Heinlein in 1961 in his novel Stranger in a Strange Land. Heinlein invented the word for his fictitious Martian language. It is described as meaning “to drink” and, figuratively, “to drink in all available aspects of reality”, “to become one with the observed”. William Tenn later asked Heinlein if it could have been inspired by the term griggo, which featured in Tenn's Venus and the Seven Sexes (1949); Heinlein “looked startled, then thought about it for a long time (and) shrugged, (saying) ‘It's possible, very possible.’”
Slang To understand (something) intuitively, to know (something) without having to think intellectually.
- I do not grok all fullness of what I read. In the history written by Master William Shakespeare I found myself full of happiness at the death of Romeo. Then I read on and learned that he had discorporated too soon – or so I thought I grokked. Why?1961, Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land, New York: Avon, →OCLC, page 106:
- In his movie—right right right—and they all grok over that. Grok―and then it's clear, without anybody having to say it.1968, Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, New York, N.Y.: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →OCLC, page 147:
3 more examples
- He freely plucks notions and verbiage from science fiction to describe everything from mountain-related undertakings to political subterfuge – like "grok", a term from Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, to denote intuitive understanding.[2008 December, Leslie Anthony, “Running from Babylon”, in Skiing, volume 61, number 4, page 116:
- “(clapping) Stan, wake up! Can't you see? Without the shackles of religion, you're free to do whatever you want. Break a commandment, break all of 'em.” “How will that help?” “Uh, pleasure -- ever heard of it? Ever grokked it? Pleasure is the road to happiness. People talk about filling the void as if it's a bad thing. It's actually full of nerve endings.”2016 May 9, Greg Cohen, “Daesong Heavy Industries” (7:38 from the start), in American Dad!, season 13, episode 15, spoken by Roger (Seth MacFarlane):
- Because what he never managed to grok then was that the company he created was destined to become a template for all of humanity, the digital reflection of masses of people across the globe. Including — and especially — the bad ones.2018 August 2, Kara Swisher, “The Expensive Education of Mark Zuckerberg and Silicon Valley”, in New York Times:
Slang To fully and completely understand something in all of its details and intricacies.
- I finally grok Perl.
- I find it exceedingly doubtful that any person groks quantum mechanics.
1 more example
- Today we take a few moments to help you grok some of the ways that victims of TU can up their hipness – if we may use that term without being considered old school.2008 August, Stanley Bing, “New Help for Hodads”, in Fortune, volume 158, number 3, page 152:
- Derived terms
- grokkable, grokker, groksucker