: someone or something that differs markedly from what is usual or standard
When you first start golf, unless you're some freak, usually you suck.βπ Image Hunter Pertee, quoted in The Daily Record (Wooster, Ohio)
: such as
a
slang, sometimes disparaging: someone whose behavior, dress, etc. is considered socially or culturally atypical
"This is about being up in people's faces," says a man with β¦ multiple piercings. "It's me saying, 'I am a freak. I am queer. I'm not like you. And I don't want to be like you, either.'"βπ Image Guy Trebay
She becomes visibly indignant while recounting a recent run-in β¦, where her guitar tech, who resembles a slightly punkier version of Slash, was stopped and frisked by police for no other reason than "he kind of looks like a freak."βπ Image Sarah Vowell
b
disparaging + usually offensive: a person with a physical abnormality
c
: an atypical postage stamp usually caused by a unique defect in paper (such as a crease) or a unique event in the manufacturing process (such as a speck of dirt on the plate) that does not produce a constant or systematic effect
2
a
: an ardent enthusiast
film freaks
Two grilled serrano chilies, meanwhile, made this chili freak very happy, and two types of salsa brought out with our meal were superb β¦βπ Image Ullia Zettie
b
: a person who is obsessed with something
a fitness freak
I'm a neat freak. I admit it. But with a cat, two dogs and two children, it's tough to keep everything clean.βπ Image Debra Dickerson
: an odd, unexpected, or seemingly capricious action or event
The Royal London Hospital is just up the Whitechapel Road and by a freak of good fortune, not only had its accident and emergency doctors gathered for a meeting on 7 July, but workers for the London Air Ambulance service were also holding a conference. Thirty-two trauma doctors and paramedics from all over the capital were a few hundred yards from the blast site β¦βπ Image Nick Cohen
b
: a sudden and odd or seemingly pointless idea or way of thinking
Her [Lady Caroline Lamb's] fame resides in her reputation for outrageous behaviour. β¦ Neither β¦ her husband, William Lamb, nor her aristocratic family, the Ponsonbys and Spensers, thought her writing anything more than the freak of an idle and sometimes overwrought mind.βπ Image Claire Harman
Every thing is governed by whim; and if one member starts a new freak, away all the rest follow on like wild geese in a string.βπ Image Washington Irving
β¦ you should be able to stop and go on, and follow this way or that, as the freak takes you β¦βπ Image Robert Louis Stevenson
Noun
eccentric, artistic types whom many regarded as freaks
I had a terrible rash on my face, and I felt like a freak. Adjective
He was the victim of a freak accident.
even weather forecasters seemed surprised by the freak hailstorm Verb (1)
don't talk about death, as it totally freaks me out
the landlady totally freaked out when she saw the dead body in the hall
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Noun
In September of that year, Randy died in a freak accident when he was hit by a tree in his yard during a storm.βπ Image Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026 Now, Bardem is getting a chance to sink his teeth into a similarly vicious freak and natural disaster in Apple TVβs upcoming miniseries adaptation of Cape Fear, playing the terrifying Max Cady.βπ Image Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
Itβs got that freak existential hair-trigger suspense β in this case, literally.βπ Image Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025 Officials in Kansas say a man has died after he was shot by his dog in a freak hunting accident.βπ Image Abigail Adams, Peoplemag, 24 Jan. 2023
Verb
The blood was what really freaked me out.βπ Image Jillian Wager, Glamour, 30 Mar. 2026 What about a former Directioner superfan to freak out Niall Horan with their obsessive knowledge?βπ Image Bethy Squires, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for freak
