stalker

noun

stalk·​er ˈstȯ-kər 

plural stalkers

1

: a person who stalks : a person who pursues someone obsessively and aggressively to the point of harassment

celebrity stalkers

In 1990, California was the first state to pass a stalking law that made it a crime to follow, threaten, or harass someone—especially if the stalker threatened violence.

—George

Eighty-seven percent of stalkers are men. Women tend to be victimized by lone male stalkers whom they know, while men are more likely to be stalked by strangers, and half of male victims' stalkers had an accomplice.

—Matthew Klein

2

: a person or animal that pursues quarry or prey stealthily

a deer stalker

Though I catch my share of trout, I do it by being a good stalker and knowing where the fish lie …

—Bill Barich

Polar bears are superb stalkers, and have a way of suddenly appearing heart-stoppingly close.

—John P. Wiley, Jr.

Examples of stalker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But where the stalker remains self-deluded to the end, Jack’s self-righteousness is tinged with self-awareness. —Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 11 Dec. 2025

Raducanu is one of a number of WTA Tour players who have recounted experiences with stalkers, or fixated persons, this year. —Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025

Dan Krug told Martinez the stalker had a nickname. —Betsy Shuller, CBS News, 30 Nov. 2025

Evangeline Riddiford Graham Considers the Unrequited Loves of the Celebrated Novelist Barbara Pym, a novelist sometimes described as the twentieth-century Jane Austen, was a stalker. —Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for stalker

• blocker
• chalker
• cocker
• docker
• hawker
• hocker
• knocker
• locker
• mocker
• ocher
• rocker
• shocker