lurk

/lərk/

/lək/

Other forms: lurking; lurked; lurks

To lurk is to creep around, hide out, and wait to attack. Your team’s strategy for winning capture the flag might be to lurk in the bushes for an hour until the opposing side thinks you gave up and went home.

The verb lurk means to move furtively or sneak around, usually while you wait to pounce. Tigers lurk through the jungle, stalking their prey, and creepy characters are always lurking in the shadows in horror movies. Perhaps that's why you'll often hear people describe not-so-safe places by saying that danger lurks at every turn. Other words for lurk include creep, prowl, and snoop.

Definitions of lurk

1. verb

   lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
   synonyms: skulk

   type of:

   conceal, hide

   prevent from being seen or discovered
2. verb

   wait in hiding to attack
   synonyms: ambuscade, ambush, bushwhack, lie in wait, scupper, waylay

   type of:

   wait

   stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
3. verb

   be about
   synonyms: footle, hang around, lallygag, linger, loaf, loiter, lollygag, lounge, mess about, mill about, mill around, tarry

   types:

   lurch, prowl

   loiter about, with no apparent aim

   type of:

   be

   have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)