stalker

noun

stalk·​er ˈstȯ-kər 

plural stalkers

1

: a person who stalks : a person who pursues someone obsessively and aggressively to the point of harassment

celebrity stalkers

In 1990, California was the first state to pass a stalking law that made it a crime to follow, threaten, or harass someone—especially if the stalker threatened violence.

—George

Eighty-seven percent of stalkers are men. Women tend to be victimized by lone male stalkers whom they know, while men are more likely to be stalked by strangers, and half of male victims' stalkers had an accomplice.

—Matthew Klein

2

: a person or animal that pursues quarry or prey stealthily

a deer stalker

Though I catch my share of trout, I do it by being a good stalker and knowing where the fish lie …

—Bill Barich

Polar bears are superb stalkers, and have a way of suddenly appearing heart-stoppingly close.

—John P. Wiley, Jr.

Examples of stalker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Her light-speed stardom has also been a challenge for the artist, who opened up to Brittany Spanos in Rolling Stone’s October cover story about encountering a stalker, hiring security, and her celebrity support group which includes Hayley Williams, Billie Eilish, and Lorde. —Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2024

The uncertainty and the ubiquity of a stalker’s presence really haunt people, Storey says, and these factors are only heightened for people with prosopagnosia. —Sadie Dingfelder, TIME, 28 Oct. 2024

For the sequence in Riley’s apartment where her support team suddenly turns into a gang of stalkers, Finn was after something beyond typical horror. —Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 18 Oct. 2024

Watkins leads as Huw Miller, a detective haunted by a stalker who taunted his town, mercilessly toying with his victims before eventually killing them. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2