- present participle of stalk.
stalking
Americannoun
-
stalkings
plural
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of stalking
Explanation
Stalking is the act of following someone or something very closely and watching its every move. If you're a very famous movie star, it's quite likely that someone is stalking you even as you read this sentence! The verb to stalk means to pursue carefully, and often stealthily. It was originally used to describe hunters following their prey and waiting for the precise moment to attack. In its more recent, colloquial use, stalk and its gerund form stalking, refer to the act of pursuing a person, often because you have an unhealthy obsession with them. Stalking your ex-girlfriend to see if she’s dating someone may seem like a good idea, but it’s unwise and illegal!
Vocabulary lists containing stalking
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Yellow-bellied marmots are stalking hikers and campers in a park more famous for its namesake giant trees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
In recent days, depending largely on what your algorithm serves up, you may be seeing nearly as many people in Cat in the Hat costumes dancing to Beyonce as those stalking the streets.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
At the same time, survivors of domestic violence or stalking use these surveillance products for their advertised purpose: to monitor their personal safety.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
Flock cameras help police solve crimes, but cases of officers abusing their access to the technology for stalking raise concerns about privacy violations.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
She didn’t run, but her steps were quick, lithe, and silent like a stalking cat’s.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
“Gurgi is ready for new walkings and stalkings, oh, yes! And new seekings and peekings! Great lords have been kind to happy, jolly Gurgi!”
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
His play consisted chiefly of elaborate stalkings of easily captured animals.
From A Mountain Boyhood by Enos B. (Enos Benjamin) Comstock
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
