stalker

American  

[staw-ker] / ˈstɔ kər /

noun

• stalkers
  plural

1. a person who pursues game, prey, or a person stealthily.

2. a person who harasses another person, as a former lover, a famous person, etc., in an aggressive, often threatening and illegal manner.

   Hollywood stars often have security guards to keep dangerous stalkers at bay.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• stalkers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of stalker

stalk ² (verb) + -er ¹

Explanation

You might joke about your neighborhood stalker who always seems to know where you've been and what time you get home from work every day, but it can actually be a little creepy to know that someone's watching you. A stalker can describe anyone who sneaks around, but it usually means a person who follows one specific individual obsessively. The word wasn't used this way until the early 1990s. Before that, it was mostly used interchangeably with "poacher" to mean "someone who pursues and steals game animals." The Old English word stelan lead to the English word steal, which is most likely the root of stalk.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stalker stalkers

It wasn’t the reality TV star’s first brush with the alleged stalker.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Instead, he attacked Haberman’s appearance and called her a scammer, a phony and a stalker.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026

The alleged stalker held firm, saying he knew the singer and that she was expecting his visit, and refused to leave until police arrived.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

Kennard appealed the judgment, claiming that the case harmed her reputation and cost her income—on the stand, she said she had been called a stalker, a liar and a Jezebel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

"Are you going all stalker on me, Will?"

From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan

She handles intake for new clients, including those who are targeted by stalkers.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

He was finally found by Sir Patrick Grant, who owns the local Glen Dessary estate, and a group of deer stalkers.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2025

When I meet famous people, within 10 minutes we’re talking about our stalkers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2025

They divorced and Thomas, who had largely quit acting over fears of stalkers, married Brittenham, with whom she raised a daughter and two stepdaughters while writing scripts and the novel “Trophies.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2024

As Elizabeth walked along the line of guardsmen, they did nothing to protect her from her stalkers.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals