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
But lawmakers often shirk that duty, enabling the executive branch to amass more power to send the military into combat without congressional approval.
—
Lisa Mascaro, Chicago Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026
California has the second-lowest homeownership rate in the country at 56%, and Haney said corporations shouldn’t be shirking real estate taxes in the midst of a housing crisis.
—Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
Rudnev shirked money, power, and influence, of any kind.
—William Jones, USA Today, 20 Feb. 2026
The three central male characters — Mike, Lou, and Orman — all converge on the archetype of the lone wolf, a dubious label the collaboration-shirking Lou has taken on in his precinct, and one his colleagues are decidedly over.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shirk
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.
Lisa Mascaro, Chicago Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026
California has the second-lowest homeownership rate in the country at 56%, and Haney said corporations shouldn’t be shirking real estate taxes in the midst of a housing crisis.
—Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
Rudnev shirked money, power, and influence, of any kind.
—William Jones, USA Today, 20 Feb. 2026
The three central male characters — Mike, Lou, and Orman — all converge on the archetype of the lone wolf, a dubious label the collaboration-shirking Lou has taken on in his precinct, and one his colleagues are decidedly over.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 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 13 Mar. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
