lurch

1 of 5

verb (1)

ˈlərch 

lurched; lurching; lurches

intransitive verb

1

: to move with a lurch

suddenly lurched forward

also : stagger

has lurched from crisis to crisis

—Jere Longman

2

: to roll or tip abruptly : pitch

lurch

2 of 5

noun (1)

1

: an abrupt jerking, swaying, or tipping movement

the car moved forward with a lurch

also : stagger sense 2

2

: a sudden roll of a ship to one side

lurch

3 of 5

noun (2)

: a decisive defeat in which an opponent wins a game by more than double the defeated player's score especially in cribbage

lurch

4 of 5

verb (2)

lurched; lurching; lurches

transitive verb

1

: to defeat by a lurch (as in cribbage)

2

archaic : to leave in the lurch

lurch

5 of 5

verb (3)

lurched; lurching; lurches

intransitive verb

dialectal, chiefly England : to loiter about a place furtively : prowl

transitive verb

1

archaic : cheat

2

obsolete : steal

Phrases

in the lurch

: in a vulnerable and unsupported position

At the peak of the noonday rush the cashier stalked out and left him in the lurch.

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• careen
• pitch
• rock
• roll
• seesaw
• sway
• toss
• wobble
• wabble

Examples of lurch in a Sentence

Verb (1)

the room lurched with every jolt of the earthquake

dressed in his zombie costume, the boy lurched down the street in his quest for Halloween candy

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

And now that governments in many rich countries have sharply lurched to the right and taken more skeptical stances on aid, this industry is collapsing. —Zainab Usman, Foreign Affairs, 5 May 2025

German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz was one of the first European leaders to grasp the long-term implications of the American lurch toward authoritarianism. —David Axe, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025

Noun

Advertisement Advertisement While Pittsburgh might not need FEMA aid, if the Trump Administration has it their way, many communities across the country could be left in the lurch on disaster recovery aid, as the administration looks to dismantle the agency and shift disaster response onto states. —Simmone Shah, Time, 2 May 2025

The appearance of impropriety on the part of a president whose idiosyncratic personal actions are driving Wall Street lurches is a charge that can be made right now. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

origin unknown

Noun (2) and Verb (2)

Middle French lourche, adjective, defeated by a lurch, deceived

Verb (3)

Middle English lorchen, probably alteration of lurken to lurk

First Known Use

Verb (1)

circa 1828, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (1)

1805, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

1598, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

circa 1651, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb (3)

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Phrases Containing lurch

• in the lurch
• leave (someone) in the lurch

Rhymes for lurch

• birch
• perch
• search
• interchurch
• recherche
• research

Kids Definition

lurch

1 of 3 noun

ˈlərch 

: an overwhelming defeat in a game (as cribbage)

lurch

2 of 3 noun

1

: a sudden roll of a ship to one side

2

: a sudden jerking, swaying, or tipping movement

the car gave a lurch

also : a staggering gait

lurch

3 of 3 verb

1

: to roll or tip suddenly

2

: to move with a lurch

suddenly lurched forward

also : stagger entry 1 sense 1