lurch

1 of 5

verb (1)

ˈlərch 

lurched; lurching; lurches

intransitive verb

1

: to move with a lurch

suddenly lurched forward

also : stagger

has lurched from crisis to crisis

—Jere Longman

2

: to roll or tip abruptly : pitch

lurch

2 of 5

noun (1)

1

: an abrupt jerking, swaying, or tipping movement

the car moved forward with a lurch

also : stagger sense 2

2

: a sudden roll of a ship to one side

lurch

3 of 5

noun (2)

: a decisive defeat in which an opponent wins a game by more than double the defeated player's score especially in cribbage

lurch

4 of 5

verb (2)

lurched; lurching; lurches

transitive verb

1

: to defeat by a lurch (as in cribbage)

2

archaic : to leave in the lurch

lurch

5 of 5

verb (3)

lurched; lurching; lurches

intransitive verb

dialectal, chiefly England : to loiter about a place furtively : prowl

transitive verb

1

archaic : cheat

2

obsolete : steal

Phrases

in the lurch

: in a vulnerable and unsupported position

At the peak of the noonday rush the cashier stalked out and left him in the lurch.

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• careen
• pitch
• rock
• roll
• seesaw
• sway
• toss
• wobble
• wabble

Examples of lurch in a Sentence

Verb (1)

the room lurched with every jolt of the earthquake

dressed in his zombie costume, the boy lurched down the street in his quest for Halloween candy

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The crew called the lead flight attendant onboard, but within a few seconds, the airplane lurched. —Alexandra Skores, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024

In the end, UnitedHealth paid a bitcoin ransom worth some twenty-two million dollars, and the system lurched back online. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2024

Noun

The company is billing Sora not as a research breakthrough but as a consumer experience—part of the company’s ongoing commercial lurch. —Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2024

Things are definitely picking up as HBO’s Harry Potter series lurches toward production, namely casting, and now a lot of names are starting to swirl around as being sought after for specific roles. —Paul Tassi, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

origin unknown

Noun (2) and Verb (2)

Middle French lourche, adjective, defeated by a lurch, deceived

Verb (3)

Middle English lorchen, probably alteration of lurken to lurk

First Known Use

Verb (1)

circa 1828, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (1)

1805, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

1598, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

circa 1651, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb (3)

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Phrases Containing lurch

• in the lurch
• leave (someone) in the lurch

Kids Definition

lurch

1 of 3 noun

ˈlərch 

: an overwhelming defeat in a game (as cribbage)

lurch

2 of 3 noun

1

: a sudden roll of a ship to one side

2

: a sudden jerking, swaying, or tipping movement

the car gave a lurch

also : a staggering gait

lurch

3 of 3 verb

1

: to roll or tip suddenly

2

: to move with a lurch

suddenly lurched forward

also : stagger entry 1 sense 1