lurk

Meaning

1. To remain concealed in order to ambush.
2. To remain unobserved.
3. To hang out or wait around a location, preferably without drawing attention to oneself.
4. To read an Internet forum without posting comments or making one's presence apparent.
5. (slang) To saddle (a person) with an undesirable task or duty.

hide

lie in ambush

lie dormant

be latent

hover in the background

conceal

snoop

remain quiet

stalk

watch closely

be hidden/concealed

watch for

be hiding

be on the look-out for

in hiding

be lurking

be hidden

be concealed

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/lɜːk/

From Middle English lurken, from Old Norse *lúrka, possibly from Proto-Germanic *lūrukōną (“to be lying in wait, lurk”), equivalent to lour + -k (frequentative suffix). Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk lurka (“to sneak away, go slowly”), dialectal Swedish lurka (“to dawdle, be slow in one's work”), Saterland Frisian lüürkje (“to look secretly, spy”), West Frisian luorkje (“to lurk”), Middle Low German lûrken (“to deceitfully stalk”).

Bookmark this

Improve your pronunciation

Write this word