skulk
Americanverb (used without object)
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skulks,
present (3rd person singular)
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skulked,
past participle, past
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skulking
present participle
noun
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a person who skulks.
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a pack or group of foxes.
-
Rare. an act or instance of skulking.
verb
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to move stealthily so as to avoid notice
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to lie in hiding; lurk
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to shirk duty or evade responsibilities; malinger
noun
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a person who skulks
-
obsolete a pack of foxes or other animals that creep about stealthily
Synonym Usage
See lurk.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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skulksimple
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skulkssimple
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have skulkedperfect
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has skulkedperfect
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am skulkingprogressive
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are skulkingprogressive
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is skulkingprogressive
-
have been skulkingperfect progressive
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has been skulkingperfect progressive
Past
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skulkedsimple
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had skulkedperfect
-
was skulkingprogressive
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were skulkingprogressive
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had been skulkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of skulk
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Scandinavian (not in Old Norse ); compare Danish, Norwegian skulke, Swedish skolka “to play hooky”
Explanation
Skulking is cowardly. It means hiding out, either because you're trying to pull something off in secret, or because you're trying to get out of doing something you're supposed to be doing. If you cut school, it makes sense to do it in the style of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and enjoy yourself. Will the punishment be worse than if you skulk around town, avoiding teachers and people your parents know, not doing anything you really want to do? In spy movies, there are always bad guys in hotel lobbies, skulking about, hiding behind open newspapers.
Vocabulary lists containing skulk
Animal Farm
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Beowulf
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Matilda
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
So what if an NFL prospect turned LSU player has to skulk back to the Cleveland Browns?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
I’ve seen too many protagonists skulk down dark hallways, but McCarthy’s version of that shot is so visceral that you feel like he’s really been there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
Each of these resorts has an undersea restaurant, where travelers can sip sparkling wine and eat crab and caviar as Rainbowfish flit by, and Blacktip sharks skulk in the distance.
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2025
You could skulk back to the Other Place.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 29, 2024
Like a skulk of foxes taking to its dens, the soldiers had retreated to their trenches: a few still digging, others working on equipment, still others talking together over charts.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
Then Connor skulks in to query Mencken on the ambassadorship he was expecting.
From Salon ● May 22, 2023
Note the hangdog way in which he skulks out of the Roc-A-Fella Records office after going door to door and playing music for various executives, who seem to regard him as a lovable nuisance.
From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2022
Finally, the president of the United States skulks through the doors of Pudong International Airport, where tens of thousands of Chinese people are waiting for him.
From Slate ● Jan. 25, 2020
A slumped young man in a gray hoodie skulks through the double doors and collapses into a chair across the room.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2016
A thin beak-nosed man who skulks outside the telegraph office, whittling little wooden boxes.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Defector Brooks Koepka skulked back to the PGA Tour, accepting penalties for going astray.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
They were MTV staples for grimy videos like “Breathe” and “Firestarter,” where the dual-mohawked singer/dancer Keith Flint skulked around an empty subway tunnel, sneering in kohl eyeliner and an American flag sweater.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2025
Unlike earlier generations of royals who skulked in and out of the hospital alone, Charles left his recent treatment with Camilla by his side, providing the support most people would expect from their spouses.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 14, 2024
At Other, though, I skulked, soaking up the sounds but keeping resolutely shtum, staying for ages then leaving with just freesheets and flyers, usually.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 26, 2020
She skulked around bushes and hid behind the skinny trunk of a birch tree, which wouldn’t have actually disguised anything if Drew happened to turn around as he crossed the street.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
“We think there’s an ICE agent,” someone told her, pointing toward an unmarked car skulking in the parking lot.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Three Herbert scrambles and an incomplete pass later, and the Chargers were skulking off the field pointless, and the Patriots had a huge emotional lift.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2026
The ending is a page turner as Wels describes Garfield’s last days alive, oblivious to Guiteau skulking in the shadows.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 2, 2023
Alinejad told The Associated Press at the time that authorities told her the man was looking for her, and that a home security video had caught him skulking outside her front door.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2023
At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Mrs. Norris skulking near the top.
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
