Grok
[grahk]
Part of speech: verb
Origin: American English, 1960s
1.
Understand (something) intuitively or by empathy
2.
Empathize or communicate sympathetically; establish a rapport.
Examples of Grok in a sentence
"I haven't had children, but I grok what it must feel like to see your kids grow up."
"I have a difficult coworker, so I want to grok and get to know him better."
About Grok
Do you speak Martian? Now you do! Grok, meaning to intuitively or empathically understand, was first seen in Robert Heinlein's 1961 sci-fi novel, "Stranger in a Strange Land." This Martian word has many uses, but it describes a deep sense of knowing and understanding.
Did you Know?
Computer programmers have brought grok to life off of the pages of sci-fi novels. The "Jargon File," a dictionary of programmer slang describes, "When you claim to 'grok' some knowledge or technique, you are asserting that you have not merely learned it in a detached instrumental way but that it has become part of you, part of your identity."
