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

The stalker pipe dreams need to stop here. —Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025

Perfect Blue follows a former J-pop idol turned actress who gets a stalker and begins to lose her mind in the process. —Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025

This rankles some of her fans, particularly a stalker who begins murdering those boosting her acting ambitions. —Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025

Fahy plays a widowed single mom whose date night with a prospective new beau turns to horror thanks to an anonymous stalker who communicates only via text. —Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 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