lurk
[lurk]
- to lie or wait in concealment, as a person in ambush; remain in or around a place secretly or furtively.
- to go furtively; slink; steal.
- to exist unperceived or unsuspected.
- Chiefly Computers. to read or observe an ongoing discussion without participating in it, as on a message board.
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- an underhand scheme; dodge.
- an easy, somewhat lazy or unethical way of earning a living, performing a task, etc.
- a hideout.
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Origin of lurk
Synonyms
See more synonyms for lurk on Thesaurus.com1. Lurk, skulk, sneak, prowl suggest avoiding observation, often because of a sinister purpose. To lurk is to lie in wait for someone or to hide about a place, often without motion, for periods of time. Skulk suggests cowardliness and stealth of movement. Sneak emphasizes the attempt to avoid being seen. It has connotations of slinking and of an abject meanness of manner, whether there exists a sinister intent or the desire to avoid punishment for some misdeed. Prowl implies the definite purpose of seeking for prey; it suggests continuous action in roaming or wandering, slowly and quietly but watchfully, as a cat that is hunting mice.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for lurks
Contemporary Examples
The last six months have been a stark reminder of the brutality that lurks at the boundaries of civilized society.
That insight alone should make us aware of what lurks beneath all our anxieties, sexual dread included.
But it turns out that just 63 light years away, there lurks a similarly colored planet.
Perhaps Earhart, or her plane, lurks in this spooky atmosphere.
Amelia Earhart: New Documentary Searches Underwater for Pilot and Her PlaneJane Mendelsohn
August 17, 2012
Again a brilliant movie taking a hold of the myth that lurks around us all the time.
Historical Examples
It is a danger that lurks and hides in the sources and fountains of power in every state.
The Shadow which lurks in every bridal lamp had become the Spectre of the bedchamber.
Bride of the MistletoeJames Lane Allen
I have tried to show the real danger that lurks in every form of sex-parasitism.
The Truth About WomanC. Gasquoine Hartley
But there lurks no bribe in the smell and beauty of the flower.
The Stark Munro LettersJ. Stark Munro
But in each of us there lurks some particle of the mob spirit, of the mob temperament.
The Mirror of the SeaJoseph Conrad
lurk
- to move stealthily or be concealed, esp for evil purposes
- to be present in an unobtrusive way; go unnoticed
- to read messages posted on an electronic network without contributing messages oneself
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- Australian and NZ slang a scheme or stratagem for success
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Word Origin
C13: probably frequentative of lour; compare Middle Dutch loeren to lie in wait
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for lurks
lurk
v.
c.1300, lurken "to hide, lie hidden," probably from Scandinavian (cf. dialectal Norwegian lurka "to sneak away," dialectal Swedish lurka "to be slow in one's work"), perhaps ultimately related to Middle English luren "to frown, lurk" (see lower (v.2)). Related: Lurked; lurking.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper