- present participle of stalk.
stalking
Americannoun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
Officials say they hope the app will help ensure stronger protection for stalking victims, but some experts question whether it will actually improve safety.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Police Chief Cameron Paul fired back in his own video, saying people who believe they have been wronged financially aren’t exempt from laws against “harassment, trespassing, stalking, or other conduct.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Mangione is also charged in federal court with two counts of interstate stalking and risks the same punishment.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Two of the defendants were later convicted of stalking charges, but a motion to dismiss the verdict will come before a federal judge later this month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
They’d been stalking the area since Saturday, hoping the kids would come back, but no luck.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
“Gurgi is ready for new walkings and stalkings, oh, yes! And new seekings and peekings! Great lords have been kind to happy, jolly Gurgi!”
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
His play consisted chiefly of elaborate stalkings of easily captured animals.
From A Mountain Boyhood by Comstock, Enos B. (Enos Benjamin)
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.
