stalking
Americannoun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stalking
Explanation
Stalking is the act of following someone or something very closely and watching its every move. If you're a very famous movie star, it's quite likely that someone is stalking you even as you read this sentence! The verb to stalk means to pursue carefully, and often stealthily. It was originally used to describe hunters following their prey and waiting for the precise moment to attack. In its more recent, colloquial use, stalk and its gerund form stalking, refer to the act of pursuing a person, often because you have an unhealthy obsession with them. Stalking your ex-girlfriend to see if she’s dating someone may seem like a good idea, but it’s unwise and illegal!
Vocabulary lists containing stalking
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.
"This means that cases may only be escalated to emergency response mechanisms once risk has clearly intensified, rather than at earlier stages of stalking or coercive control."
From BBC • May 22, 2026
She also urged the court to overturn the stalking order.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
Vader has instead taken up residence, and he will appear multiple times daily in front of the land’s militaristic TIE fighter before stalking the area on the prowl for Luke Skywalker.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
And in late February, jurors convicted two activists on stalking charges after they livestreamed themselves following an immigration agent to his home; the pair were acquitted of conspiracy.
From Salon • Apr. 15, 2026
Did that mean the mountain lion was stalking around somewhere in the grass too?
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
