stalker

American  

[staw-ker] / ˈstɔ kər /

noun

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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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

The actor stars in a solo off-Broadway show by David Cale about a playwright stumped by the blank page who finds a surprising, unsettling source of inspiration in the form of a stalker.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

He had previously engaged in the first of several cringeworthy pre-recorded sketches alongside his comedic stalker Jack Whitehall.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026

Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes lends a hand on glam-stomp anthem Cocky, and Williams' former Take That nemesis Gary Barlow appears on a song called Morrissey, written from the perspective of a delusional stalker.

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026

The 1987 movie features Schwarzenegger’s Dutch leading a multiracial band of bros on a black ops mission to eliminate guerrillas in a Central American jungle, only to be butchered by an invisible stalker from space.

From Salon • Nov. 12, 2025

Seanie was such a video-game-internet geek with a strong stalker flavor to his personality.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith