noun

jerk

JURK/dʒɜːrk/

An obnoxious or contemptible person.

The person acts like a jerk, shoving ahead and spilling another customer's drink.

A rude person shoves ahead of a waiting line and spills another customer’s drink while others recoil from the contemptible behavior.

Etymology

Recorded in American carnival slang for a tedious, ineffectual person, jerk has an uncertain origin. It may derive from jerkwater, 'insignificant,' or derive from or have been influenced by the phrase jerk off.

In context

MasterClass presenter0:54

to be confrontational without being a jerk.

George Stephanopoulos Teaches Purposeful Communication | Official Trailer | MasterClass

Mat Boggs presenter2:53

And he was drunk and he was being a jerk in that moment,

8 Things a Man Does When He's in Love with You | Relationship Advice for Women by Mat Boggs

More examples

She apologized for calling him a jerk.
Nobody wanted to work with the office jerk.
He realized that his impatient remarks had made him seem like a jerk.

Forms

jerk · jerks

Similar words

boor: Someone rude or insensitive.
lout: Suggests coarse, ill-mannered behavior.