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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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 )

---

lurch ³ British  

/ lɜːtʃ /

verb

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

---

lurch More Idioms  

1. see leave in the lurch.

---

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

Explanation

To lurch is to suddenly move — usually forward. If you are on a ship that lurches a lot during a storm, you may find your body lurching in one direction and your stomach going in the opposite one. The verb lurch can refer to any abrupt movement, but it often has the sense of a sharp turn up, down, or sideways. If you invest in the stock market, you have to be prepared for sudden losses and gains as the stock market can lurch up or down on a whim. The verb also means to make sudden jerking movements when walking, as if you cannot control your movements.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lurch

Treasury yields continued to lurch higher — helping to put more pressure on stocks, which struggled during the first trading session of the week.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

The voice on the end of the phone made Yusron Azzahidi's stomach lurch.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Tech shares have seen rollercoaster volatility in recent days, as investors lurch between bullish optimism over sustained AI demand, and fears that the big valuations are unrealistic.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

They overlook that those payouts were often skimpy, many workers didn’t get the benefit, and companies that went bust left retirees in the lurch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Even though I liked seeing you feel happy and valued, my stomach gave a tiny lurch as you and Arul smiled at each other.

From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman

Related Words

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