shirked; shirking; shirks
shirker
noun
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
Importers are supposed to notify Cal Fire when a shipment arrives, but a Bee investigation found that the companies linked to the Esparto property shirked that requirement for years.
—
Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 22 Jan. 2026
By shirking their duty to maintain order and protect agents, these local officials endanger lives and undermine national security.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2026
After Villa went 2-0 up, they were forced to withstand a spirited Tottenham fightback with the hosts scoring through Wilson Odobert in the 54th minute, and Rogers — scorer of the second in first-half stoppage time — did not shirk his defensive responsibility.
—Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
That’s so like Craig to shirk responsibility like a woman just asked him when he and his girlfriend are getting married.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shirk
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Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 22 Jan. 2026
By shirking their duty to maintain order and protect agents, these local officials endanger lives and undermine national security.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2026
After Villa went 2-0 up, they were forced to withstand a spirited Tottenham fightback with the hosts scoring through Wilson Odobert in the 54th minute, and Rogers — scorer of the second in first-half stoppage time — did not shirk his defensive responsibility.
—Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
That’s so like Craig to shirk responsibility like a woman just asked him when he and his girlfriend are getting married.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shirk
Cite this Entry
“Shirk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shirk. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shirk
verb
: to get out of doing especially what one ought to do
: avoid sense 3, evade
shirked their duty
shirker
noun
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
