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lurch 1 of 2

verb

ˈlərch How to pronounce lurch (audio)
Definition of lurchnext
1
as in to sway
to make a series of unsteady side-to-side motions the room lurched with every jolt of the earthquake

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to stagger
to move forward while swaying from side to side dressed in his zombie costume, the boy lurched down the street in his quest for Halloween candy

Synonyms & Similar Words

lurch

2 of 2

noun

as in washout

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of lurch
Verb
There followed an uncomfortable, lurching ride in a rickety old coach. — Andy Mitten, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026 Push your right foot down, and the Grand Sport lurches forward like a bat out of hell and straight into two esses, which right away show you how nicely dialed-in the steering is. — Jerry Perez, The Drive, 3 Sep. 2026
Noun
The beat, provided by live drums, lurches and lumbers, following the knotty runs of notes instead of setting up a pulse. — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 9 Apr. 2026 The lurch from declaring fears about Iran to be mere media exaggerations to invoking imminent threat, from demanding the Nobel Peace Prize to luxuriating in lethality, is the essence of the autocrat’s monopoly on unpredictability. — Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lurch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lurch
  1. sway
  2. stagger
  3. washout
  4. shake
  5. collapse
  6. rock
  7. upset
  8. fiasco
Verb
  • On a recent weekend in Lee's district about 50 days before the election, members from the Culinary Union, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations knocked on voters' doors, hoping to sway those still undecided.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026
  • In the southernmost car, dozens press together and sway in their prayer shawls to the hymns of the morning service.
    — Ben Corn, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of sway
Verb
  • To adjust to the limited space, many teams are expected to stagger arrivals of athletes and officials.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Logan wields unbreakable, atomically sharp adamantium claws, yet enemies feel like bloated punching bags that require mindless button-mashing to stagger.
    — Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of stagger
Noun
  • Showers and storms return for part of the weekend, but it's not expected to be a washout.
    — Rachael Jay, CBS News, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Amy and Rosie are intensely appealing women, yet their lives with men have been a washout.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of washout
Verb
  • The policeman held on to Shorty’s biceps and shook them slightly, both giving the sense of a loving embrace and using his strength to lift Shorty ever so slightly off the ground and clear of the entrance.
    — Anand Giridharadas, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The trailer ends with Taylor-Johnson shaking and looking toward the sky as his transformation into a wolf appears to approach.
    — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of shake
Noun
  • The African Union estimated that conflict resulted in around 600,000 deaths from combat, famine and the collapse of healthcare.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Their battles for influence, image and desire, in a Spain on the brink of collapse, are observed and narrated with fierce irony by Francisco de Goya, an uneasy witness who turns palace intrigue into a surprisingly contemporary mirror.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of collapse
Verb
  • The continuation of this buyer’s market will be contingent upon inflation, which has been rocked by tariffs and the Iran war, as well as concerns about what some have called a growing AI bubble.
    — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The mighty nor’easter that’s expected to rock the East Coast all the weekend threw a curveball to the Yankees, whose game on Saturday night was preemptively rescheduled for Friday as part of a single-admission doubleheader.
    — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of rock
Noun
  • In a rare father-son matchup, coach Jack Elway leads San Jose State to its second consecutive upset of quarterback John Elway and Stanford 35-31 in Palo Alto, Calif.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • An upset of Alabama would mean everything for Daniels’s career.
    — Bob Ferrante, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of upset
Noun
  • Wilson also traces notable instances of building fiascos around New York, like awning collapses and the troubled history of 432 Park, the supertall on Billionaire’s Row.
    — Lila Allen, Architectural Digest, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Neither team punted in the first half, yet the Chargers came away with just seven points, in part because of that goal-line fiasco, and in part because of an Omarion Hampton fumble.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of fiasco

Browse Nearby Words

lunkheads
lurch
lurched
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Cite this Entry

“Lurch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lurch. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on lurch

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lurch

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