skulk

verb \ ˈskəlk \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of skulk

intransitive verb

1 : to move in a stealthy or furtive manner

skulked into her sister's room

2 a : to hide or conceal something (such as oneself) often out of cowardice or fear or with sinister intent

b chiefly British : malinger

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skulker

noun

See skulk defined for English-language learners

See skulk defined for kids

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Examples of skulk in a Sentence

A man was skulking around outside.
She skulked into her sister's room.

Recent Examples of skulk from the Web

Call it a mixture of bravado and irrational confidence, but a great shooter is not skulking off the floor.

— jason gay, WSJ, "Notre Dame’s Shots Heard ‘Round the World," 2 Apr. 2018
Trade adviser Peter Navarro, once barred from sending private emails and spotted skulking in West Wing hallways, has abruptly emerged from the chaos ascendant.

— Washington Post, "Trump shuffle: Suddenly trade guru Navarro takes spotlight," 7 Mar. 2018
Remember when The Dreamers came out, and skulking off to see it in theaters with your friends was the thing to do?

— mehera bonner, Marie Claire, "12 Films Where the Sex Was So Intense It Earned a NC-17 Rating," 2 Jan. 2018
For a time, Bitcoin was known as the currency of drug dealers and other bad actors skulking on the internet.

— nathaniel popper and tiffany hsu, New York Times, "Bitcoin Plummets More Than 30 Percent in Less Than a Day," 22 Dec. 2017
Instead, they’d be condemned to skulk the Hispaniola plantations for eternity, an undead slave at once denied their own bodies and yet trapped inside them—a soulless zombie.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "Zombie Movies Are Never Really About Zombies," 30 Oct. 2017
The spectral, life-size, menacing figures lurked and skulked and leapt.

— richard sandomir, New York Times, "Richard Hambleton, ‘Shadowman’ of the ’80s Art Scene, Dies at 65," 3 Nov. 2017
In the distant past, wolves started skulking around human campsites, scavenging the carcasses left behind by hunters.

— ed yong, The Atlantic, "How Domestication Ruined Dogs' Pack Instincts," 16 Oct. 2017
Refinery 423, for one, stocks Hoff hot sauce, golf balls in an egg carton and messenger bags with the image of a skulking bear.

— andrea sachs, chicagotribune.com, "Where to stay, eat and explore in Chattanooga, Tenn.," 25 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'skulk.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of skulk

Middle English, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialect skulka to lie in wait, lurk

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First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

skulk Synonyms

Phrases

lie low, sit tight;

Synonym Discussion of skulk

lurk, skulk, slink, sneak mean to behave so as to escape attention. lurk implies a lying in wait in a place of concealment and often suggests an evil intent.