lurker
Americannoun
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lurkers
plural
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Digital Technology. a person who reads or listens in on an online conversation without taking part.
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a person who lurks, lying in wait or moving around stealthily in a place.
Other Word Forms
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Nouns
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:
When he cranked up the pyro on the midcareer lurker ballad “The Hills,” the front rows of SoFi got a bracing reminder of how volatile this music is even when it sits atop streaming charts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2025
“I’m not a lurker who stands behind them like, ooh, ahh,” Showalter said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2023
In one mordant joke, he trails a woman into a park, inadvertently makes eye contact with another lurker, then hastily conceals himself when the woman’s date shows up.
From New York Times ● May 18, 2022
He tried to focus on his job, but the lurker was making him nervous.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2021
Certainly not the late-night lurker and his crying wife, and definitely not the stomping dirt trackers.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
Scientists are still sorting out the answer, but it’s clear that these kinds of cells aren’t merely passive lurkers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2025
“I went to them and said, ‘Hey, can we have one of those stilt walkers?’” says Slash, referring to the larger-than-life lurkers who haunt guests during the festivities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2025
Knowing that these pans are problematic, you may be tempted to toss any lurkers in your cupboard.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2024
Not necessarily to the “dismissives,” the small but loud minority who are convinced it’s all a hoax, but to their audiences, the lurkers who read but don’t engage.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 25, 2021
The lurkers were never the same two days running, although they all seemed to share a dislike for normal clothing.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
