lurch
1an act or instance of swaying abruptly.
an awkward, swaying or staggering motion or gait.
a sudden tip or roll to one side, as of a ship or a staggering person.
to make a lurch; move with lurches; stagger: The wounded man lurched across the room.
(of a ship) to roll or pitch suddenly.
Origin of lurch
1Other words for lurch
Other words from lurch
- lurch·ing·ly, adverb
Other definitions for lurch (2 of 3)
a situation at the close of various games in which the loser scores nothing or is far behind the opponent.
Origin of lurch
2Other definitions for lurch (3 of 3)
British Dialect. to lurk near a place; prowl.
Archaic. to do out of; defraud; cheat.
Obsolete. to acquire through underhanded means; steal; filch.
Archaic. the act of lurking or state of watchfulness.
Origin of lurch
3Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use lurch in a sentence
And who knows, maybe lawmakers will discover that lurching from crisis to crisis is no way to run a government.
GOP Claims Victory in Retreat on Debt Ceiling | David Freedlander | January 19, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTWe are finally lurching toward a serious debate about guns and violence in this country.
The Gun-Control Debate May Be a Circus, but at Least It’s Not Fading | Howard Kurtz | January 14, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTAs the debt talks were lurching into the eleventh hour, McConnell proposed a way out of the problem.
Michael Tomasky on Obama’s Republican Revenge Over the Debt Limit | Michael Tomasky | December 1, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTNow Pawlenty finds himself lurching from the frozen north into the crosshairs of national politics.
We are lurching from outrage, to anger, to outrage at the anger, and back again in microseconds.
Gregory crawled and scrambled over the front of the lurching car and got into the driver's seat.
Motor Matt's Mystery | Stanley R. MatthewsThe Angel clung to the card and paper, and as best she could in the lurching, swaying cab, read the addresses over.
Freckles | Gene Stratton-PorterHe got up, lurching to the motion of the flying train, and started forward to the water cooler behind the car door.
The Escape of Mr. Trimm | Irvin S. CobbLurching down the office steps, with flushed face and bloodshot eyes, came Captain Newhall.
Warrior Gap | Charles KingRobert Matcham took a lurching step, but I caught him by the sleeve and forestalled any other answer by tendering my prize.
Where the Pavement Ends | John Russell
British Dictionary definitions for lurch (1 of 3)
/ (lɜːtʃ) /
to lean or pitch suddenly to one side
to stagger or sway
the act or an instance of lurching
Origin of lurch
1Derived forms of lurch
- lurching, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for lurch (2 of 3)
/ (lɜːtʃ) /
leave someone in the lurch to desert someone in trouble
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)
Origin of lurch
2British Dictionary definitions for lurch (3 of 3)
/ (lɜːtʃ) /
(intr) archaic, or dialect to prowl or steal about suspiciously
Origin of lurch
3Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with lurch
see leave in the lurch.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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