Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To look about or survey with unsophisticated wonderment or curiosity.
- noun A rubbernecker.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Someone who engages in
rubbernecking , or turning and staring. - noun US, obsolete A
tourist . - noun Someone or something with a
flexible neck . - verb To watch by
craning the neck (as though it were made of rubber), especially if the observer and observed are in motion relative to each other.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a tourist who is visiting sights of interest
- noun a person who stares inquisitively
- verb strain to watch; stare curiously
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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When you're a superstar performer and you've mainly humiliated yourself (and your family) and haven't done anything to directly betray or cheat your adoring fans, all you have to do is let time pass to allow your ADD followers to "rubberneck" some other star's or celebrity's personal train wreck, then come back and perform superbly and not only will you be forgiven, you may be re-anointed as a hero.
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When you're a superstar performer and you've mainly humiliated yourself (and your family) and haven't done anything to directly betray or cheat your adoring fans, all you have to do is let time pass to allow your ADD followers to "rubberneck" some other star's or celebrity's personal train wreck, then come back and perform superbly and not only will you be forgiven, you may be re-anointed as a hero.
Mark Goulston, M.D.: Just Listen -- "All Is Forgiven Tiger" 2010
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Sure, if you zone out from the relentless news cycle, you might miss a gory pileup or two, but it's not as though you need to rubberneck every last car crash to realize how dangerous it is out there.
Marty Kaplan: Campaign Colonics Marty Kaplan 2012
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As the always-underrated Rescue Me's final season progresses, Kelly's relationship with Tommy grows deeper, richer and more complex, and there's no one better equipped to handle the show's trademark rubberneck shifts between comedy and drama than the NewsRadio and ER vet.
Cheers & Jeers: Maura Tierney Burns Bright on Rescue Me 2011
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Although I was comfortable enough to rubberneck constantly, I had a death-grip on the harness straps and only let go to take a few very fast snapshots.
Perspective Ulysses 2009
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Of the three grunt calls I have like Primos Buck Roar best, Primos rubberneck as well as Hs's True Talker, both work but not as good as the Roar.
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Judging by these participatory self-portraits, Caravaggio shows himself intensely curious about history and society, prepared to rubberneck on our behalf and report back what he sees.
The Misery Memoirist James Hall 2011
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I watch the show like a rubberneck passing a car accident.
'Heroes' recap: Oh Mohinder, You've Done It Again! | EW.com 2009
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It's part of the human predisposition to rubberneck major accidents.
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Of the three grunt calls I have like Primos Buck Roar best, Primos rubberneck as well as Hs's True Talker, both work but not as good as the Roar.
appleandy commented on the word rubberneck
I always thought to rubber-neck was to look at something that is moving past one (or that one is moving past) so that one's head swivels on one's neck to keep it in sight
February 19, 2008
reesetee commented on the word rubberneck
Appleandy, if you're referring to the definition above, click on "more" and you'll see that definition. WeirdNet can be weird at times. :-)
February 19, 2008