shirk

verb

ˈshərk 

shirked; shirking; shirks

intransitive verb

1

: to go stealthily : sneak

2

: to evade the performance of an obligation

transitive verb

: avoid, evade

shirk one's duty

shirker noun

Synonyms of shirk

• avoid
• evade
• escape

Examples of shirk in a Sentence

He's too conscientious to shirk his duty.

He never shirked from doing his duty.

They did their duty without shirking or complaining.

Recent Examples on the Web

The structure puts extra defensive weight on Potts, but his midfield partners did not shirk their share of such duties, with the trio combining to give West Ham broad, reliable coverage across the pitch. —Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025

Wife Swap explains this as Emily shirking her stay-at-home-mom responsibilities by ending up on a TV show. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2025

Her dissent argues that the Court is shirking its duty to clarify constitutional law in capital cases, where individuals’ lives are on the line. —Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025

Swift’s strong numbers shirk one of her more polarizing release weeks in years, with The Life of a Showgirl garnering mixed critical reviews. —Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for shirk

• berk
• birk
• cirque
• clerk
• dirk
• erk
• irk
• jerk
• kirk
• lurk
• merc
• merch

Kids Definition

shirk

verb

ˈshərk 

: to get out of doing especially what one ought to do

: avoid sense 3, evade

shirked their duty

shirker noun