lurking

verb

present participle of lurk
1
as in sneaking
to move about in a sly or secret manner we caught a glimpse of someone lurking around the corner

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in hiding
to remain out of sight watch out for snakes lurking in the tall grass

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 lurking The par-3 sixth hole and the long par-3 16th hole will be key to watch, with big numbers lurking. — Dennis Esser, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026 Oil prices are once again uncomfortably high, but the bigger problem is lurking just beneath the surface. — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026 As fans know, no world in Stranger Things is ever void, as there are always monsters lurking nearby, namely Vecna. — Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2026 While Season 1 focused on the evil lurking underneath suburban comfort, Season 2 will have a different aesthetic. — Joe Otterson, Variety, 17 Aug. 2026 As fans exited the Stadium, lurking entrepreneurs offered a hundred dollars for the figurines; today, sellers ask for as much as a thousand bucks on eBay. — Bruce Handy, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2026 Sub hunting goes on all the time, usually to keep crews in practice as well as to monitor the locations and capabilities of potentially hostile boats lurking beneath the waves. — David Szondy august 12, New Atlas, 13 Aug. 2026 Many other red dots lurking in JWST models may soon be explained by the new astrophysical model, although none detected so far are nearly as bright as MoM-BH*-1. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 12 Aug. 2026 But for Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), the local personalities pale in comparison to the evils lurking beneath the cursed island’s surface. — Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lurking
  1. sneaking
  2. hiding
  3. slipping
  4. lying
  5. sliding
Verb
  • In addition to dark transits, another tactic for sneaking oil supplies through the strait is ship-to-ship transfers, a practice Iran and Russia have previously used to get their oil tankers past Western sanctions.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The fact that each tally mark was a dollar in the band’s pocket, and that sneaking in was essentially stealing money from them, also didn’t faze us.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of sneaking
Verb
  • Filmmaker Rubaiyat Hossain crafts a taut supernatural drama that dissects the patriarchy hiding beneath the veneer of a fairytale wedding.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Then there are all the people hiding in the hills, and those who have taken refuge in the homes of Moroccan relatives in Ceuta.
    — Miguel Macias, NPR, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of hiding
Verb
  • Vaccination rates have been slipping since the 2019–2020 school year, when the US had obtained rates of around 95 percent, the threshold needed to keep outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases from spreading in communities.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 17 Aug. 2026
  • By the time a slipping receivable or a bloated inventory line shows up in that review, weeks of cash have already been lost.
    — Nick Chandi, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of slipping
Verb
  • The young Moroccan caught the eye at the World Cup and certainly has the potential to become one of the best deep-lying midfielders in the game.
    — Graham Ruthven, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Then the challenge was to be on the spot for anything and everything their subjects might do — like lying flat in a car bed, every day, often for 16 hours or longer.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of lying
Verb
  • These guys might do much of the unglamorous work that goes unnoticed, breaking up play, playing short passes and sliding across into position to snuff out counter-attacks, but their role is highly valued in the transfer market.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • An Intensity Slider – a simple sliding bar adjustment for controlling the depth, vibrancy, brightness and contrast of the TV’s pictures to compensate for viewing angles, onscreen reflections and simply different viewing tastes.
    — John Archer, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of sliding

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Cite this Entry

“Lurking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lurking. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of lurking for Spanish Speakers

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