William Safire of The New York Times attributes “possibly” the first use of ‘Borked’ as a verb to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution of August 20, 1987. Safire defines “to bork” by reference “to the way Democrats savaged Ronald Reagan’s nominee, the Appeals Court judge Robert H. Bork, the year before.” This definition stems from the history of the fight over Bork’s nomination. Bork was widely lauded for his competence, but reviled for his political philosophy. In March 2002, the word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary under “Bork”; its definition extends beyond judicial nominees, stating that people who bork others “usually [do so] with the aim of preventing [a person's] appointment to public office.”

Perhaps the best known use of the verb to bork occurred in July 1991 at a conference of the National Organization for Women in New York City. Feminist Florynce Kennedy addressed the conference on the importance of defeating the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court. She said, “We’re going to bork him. We’re going to kill him politically. . . . This little creep, where did he come from?” Thomas was subsequently confirmed after one of the most divisive confirmation fights in Supreme Court history.

In the 2005 comedy film The 40-Year Old Virgin the main character Andy, in an attempt to conceal his virginity, states “I borked a lot of women in my day“. [ MORE ON JUDGE ROBERT HERON BORK ]