lurch

1 of 3

verb (1)

lurched; lurching; lurches
Synonyms of lurchnext

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 3

verb (2)

lurched; lurching; lurches

transitive verb

1
: to defeat by a lurch (as in cribbage)
2
archaic : to leave in the lurch

lurch

3 of 3

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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
In a December 2024 crash, a bus lurched onto a sidewalk outside Curley K-8 School in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Willoughby Mariano, ProPublica, 8 June 2026 Many traders see China’s eventual return to pre-Iran war oil purchasing rates as the key to predicting when oil prices finally lurch higher. Devika Krishna Kumar, Fortune, 6 June 2026 The film unhurriedly lurches from one markedly similar fight scene to the next, with only Skeletor’s occasional injections of ripe innuendo to liven them up a bit. Guy Lodge, Variety, 2 June 2026 By 2024 that gap reached 27 points – not because working-class voters lurched toward anti-government extremism, but because mainstream Democrats became dramatically more trusting of government as an instrument of social change. Nicholas Jacobs, The Conversation, 2 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for lurch

Word History

Etymology

Verb (2)

derivative of lurch entry 3

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

Verb (2)

circa 1651, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb (3)

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of lurch was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lurch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lurch. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.

Kids Definition

lurch

1 of 3 noun
: 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

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