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 production was full of nostalgia for an imagined past when the small screen was more ascendant and apolitical, with tributes to Charlie’s Angels and Dolly Parton shirking any embrace of the form’s progressive history. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026

Mbappe is right that pressing is a team effort, and one player who never shirks that effort is Valverde, whose endeavour was rewarded with surely the easiest goal of his career. — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Barnett’s death also inspired other Boeing employees to speak out about the company allegedly shirking quality standards to increase profit. — Alyssa Modos, PEOPLE, 20 Aug. 2026

During a livestream of a pre-pageant event, Itsaragrisil berated Miss Mexico’s Fátima Bosch, accusing her of shirking mandatory promotional responsibilities for the host country. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Aug. 2026

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