shirk

verb

ˈshərk 

shirked; shirking; shirks

intransitive verb

1

: to go stealthily : sneak

2

: to evade the performance of an obligation

transitive verb

: avoid, evade

shirk one's duty

shirker noun

Synonyms

• avoid
• evade
• escape

Examples of shirk in a Sentence

He's too conscientious to shirk his duty.

He never shirked from doing his duty.

They did their duty without shirking or complaining.

Recent Examples on the Web

Chancellor Jeremy Haefner told The Denver Post that inclusivity remains a core value at DU and vowed the federal government will not strongarm the campus into shirking from that. —Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 7 Sep. 2025

Nick, desperate to return to the present, shirks the doting parents and brother who long to comfort him. —Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025

This shirks both Mubi’s and Sequoia’s responsibility. —Alex Ritman, Variety, 26 Aug. 2025

In new photos from a Beckham family yacht trip off the coast of Italy, Victoria seemed to shirk traditional bathing suit cover ups in favor of wearing sheer, lacy lingerie over her black bikini during a family yacht trip off the coast Italy. —Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 23 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for shirk

• berk
• birk
• cirque
• clerk
• dirk
• erk
• irk
• jerk
• kirk
• lurk
• merc
• merch

Kids Definition

shirk

verb

ˈshərk 

: to get out of doing especially what one ought to do

: avoid sense 3, evade

shirked their duty

shirker noun