lurch

¹ American  

[lurch] / lɜrtʃ /

noun

1. an act or instance of swaying abruptly.

2. an awkward, swaying or staggering motion or gait.

3. a sudden tip or roll to one side, as of a ship or a staggering person.

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verb (used without object)

1. to make a lurch; move with lurches; stagger.

   The wounded man lurched across the room.

   Synonyms:

   totter, reel, lunge

2. (of a ship) to roll or pitch suddenly.

lurch ² American  

[lurch] / lɜrtʃ /

noun

1. a situation at the close of various games in which the loser scores nothing or is far behind the opponent.

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idioms

1. leave in the lurch, to leave in an uncomfortable or desperate situation; desert in time of trouble.

   Our best salesperson left us in the lurch at the peak of the busy season.

lurch ³ American  

[lurch] / lɜrtʃ /

verb (used without object)

1. British Dialect. to lurk near a place; prowl.

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verb (used with object)

1. Archaic. to do out of; defraud; cheat.

2. Obsolete. to acquire through underhanded means; steal; filch.

noun

1. Archaic. the act of lurking or state of watchfulness.

lurch ¹ British  

/ lɜːtʃ /

verb

1. to lean or pitch suddenly to one side

2. to stagger or sway

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noun

1. the act or an instance of lurching

lurch ² British  

/ lɜːtʃ /

noun

1. to desert someone in trouble

2. cribbage the state of a losing player with less than 30 points at the end of a game (esp in the phrase in the lurch )

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lurch ³ British  

/ lɜːtʃ /

verb

1. archaic (intr) to prowl or steal about suspiciously

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lurch More Idioms  

1. see leave in the lurch.

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Other Word Forms

• lurching adjective
• lurchingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of lurch¹

First recorded in 1800–10; origin uncertain

Origin of lurch²

First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French lourche a game, noun use of lourche (adjective) “defeated,” from a Germanic language; compare Middle High German lurz “left (hand); wrong,” lürzen “to deceive,” Old English belyrtan “to deceive”

Origin of lurch³

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English lorchen “to skulk,” apparently variant of lurken lurk

Example Sentences

Florida; Nevada; Texas; and Utah in a lurch with little notice, no severance and scrambling to fulfill a surge of orders from customers clamoring to get their last tastes.

From Los Angeles Times

“The decision leaves defense contractors and defense suppliers, such as GE Aerospace, in the lurch,” my colleagues Janet Cho and Al Root wrote today.

From Barron's

“The decision leaves defense contractors and defense suppliers, such as GE Aerospace, in the lurch,” my colleagues Janet Cho and Al Root wrote today.

From Barron's

The decision leaves defense contractors and defense suppliers in the lurch.

From Barron's

United have lurched from one crisis to another since the legendary Ferguson retired after winning their most recent English title in 2013.

From Barron's

Related Words

• bumble
• careen
• falter
• flounder
• heave
• jerk
• lean
• reel
• seesaw
• stagger
• stumble
• sway
• teeter
• tilt
• totter
• wallow
• wobble