lurch

¹

[ lurch ]

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.

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

[ lurch ]

noun

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

lurch

³

[ lurch ]

verb (used without object)

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

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

/ lɜːtʃ /

verb

1. to lean or pitch suddenly to one side
2. to stagger or sway

noun

1. the act or an instance of lurching

lurch

²

/ lɜːtʃ /

noun

1. leave someone in the lurch
   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 )

lurch

³

/ lɜːtʃ /

verb

1. archaic.
   intr to prowl or steal about suspiciously

Derived Forms

• ˈlurching, adjective

Other Words From

• lurching·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of lurch¹

C19: origin unknown

Origin of lurch²

C16: from French lourche a game similar to backgammon, apparently from lourche (adj) deceived, probably of Germanic origin

Origin of lurch³

C15: perhaps a variant of lurk

Idioms and Phrases

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.

More idioms and phrases containing lurch

see leave in the lurch .

Example Sentences

She considered quitting, but didn’t want to leave her co-producer and other show staff members in the lurch.

From Washington Post

In the latest episode of Groundhog Day, Congress failed to reach a deal on a stimulus package, leaving investors—not to mention millions of struggling American families—in the lurch.

From Fortune

When in doubt, go for the best air fryer with a higher capacity, so you’re not left in the lurch if you find yourself in need of quickly preparing a party-size batch of food.

From Popular-Science

There were weird lurches forward and back in the aid people got.

From Washington Post

Besides the users, the ban also left more than 200,000 influencers in the lurch.

From Quartz

That will leave troops in a lurch when the F-35 eventually becomes the only game in town.

From The Daily Beast

But his lumbering lurch toward the Ted Cruz tin-foil-hat convention should instead be an object lesson for Republicans to come.

From The Daily Beast

The crowd began to lurch violently, as small motions rippled out into panicked attempts to break away.

From The Daily Beast

The United States cannot simply walk away from the plain meaning of the Budapest Memorandum and leave Ukraine in the lurch.

From The Daily Beast

So as we lurch toward the next “fail-safe” milestone, there must be a way out for both sides.

From The Daily Beast

Then came the turn of the Manchesters, left in the lurch, with their right flank hanging in the air.

From Project Gutenberg

"Happier—and safer," she said gravely, the canoe giving a dangerous lurch as she leaned forward in her seat to catch my answer.

From Project Gutenberg

They had not pulled fifty yards from their late home when she gave a sudden lurch to port and went down stern foremost.

From Project Gutenberg

Now and then a lurch of the train flung her against Harney, and through her thin muslin she felt the touch of his sleeve.

From Project Gutenberg

He woke up in time to lurch after her and he got his shoulder into the door-opening before she could slide it shut.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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