gweep

G2W4E1E1P3
/ɡwiːp/

verb

To work on a minicomputer late at night.

Scrabble 11
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbgweep (third-person singular simple present gweeps, present participle gweeping, simple past and past participle gweeped)

present singular third person gweeps · participle present gweeping · participle past gweeped · past gweeped

  1. datedslangcomputingTo work on a minicomputer late at night.
noungweep (plural gweeps)

plural gweeps

  1. datedslangcomputingA nighttime hacker on early minicomputers.

Origin

Purportedly coined by hackers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in 1977 and still in use through 1991. However, this entry did not appear in the Jargon File until the 1993 version 3.0.0, an edition which prompted controversy about Eric Raymond's stewardship and attention to proper attestation. The reliability of this particular addition is unclear; it was likely in use at WPI in 1991 as reported, but may have been specific to a much smaller subcommunity, particularly as it escaped mention in earlier editions of the Jargon File, which did capture other slang from WPI.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with gweep

keepdeepsleepsheepleapasleepsweepsteepreapbeeppeepweepcheepbleepSandeepseepeepmeepneapSundeepgeepsneapoversleepaheap
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

gweep. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gweep

MLA

“gweep.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gweep. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gweep,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gweep.

Source: gweep on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.