What Does Uber Really Mean?

wondrous memeWelcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, an awesome meme for word nerds hosted by Kathy at Bermudaonion.net.  Join the fun- share a new word you learned this week.

My entry isn’t exactly a word.  But after I heard my 13-year-old son use “uber” for the hundredth time, I decided we needed to clarify the meaning.

“My hair is ubershort now,” my son said upon leaving the barber shop.

“Do you even know what that word means?” I asked.

“It’s not a word, it’s a prefix,” he said.

What an ubernerd. 😉

Uber \’ü-bər\ German, from über, meaning over or beyond; being a superlative example of its kind or class; to an extreme or excessive degree; super

 

My ubercool photo of uberimpressive lava rock formations on Maui.
My ubercool photo of uberimpressive lava rock formations on Maui.

 

Word Nerd Workout

Use uber in a sentence.  Or, if you’re like my friend Kristen and you’re sick of hearing this prefix, share a more creative or original way to describe something as “superlative or extreme.”

Thanks for getting nerdy with me today!

Julia 

Julia Tomiak
I believe in the power of words to improve our lives, and I help people find interesting words to read. Member of SCBWI.

18 Comments

  1. I prefer to use “super” as my prefix – superhungry, supertired, supercool. I guess the fact that I use supercool to describe myself means I’m really superdorky.

  2. What a great kid you have! Ubernerd, indeed. I’m having an uberawesome birthday week. Already two cards and gifts and I don’t even turn uberold til Sunday!

  3. Major props to your son for knowing this is a prefix! I’ve been using this one for years; as a linguist, I picked it up, and have found it very useful.

  4. Fun post, and I love the photo!!
    I knew uber because I have 3 teenagers in my life. It’s hard keeping up with all the words they use isn’t it? It seems like their vocabulary changes daily.

  5. I was pretty sure I knew what uber meant but I didn’t realize it’s used so much these days. I obviously need to associate with more young people.

    Our waiter was uberfriendly and efficient so we left him a generous tip.

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