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ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Lurch

/lɜːt͡ʃ/ · noun

Meaning

A sudden or unsteady movement..

Definitions by Sense

  1. A sudden or unsteady movement.
  2. To make such a sudden, unsteady movement.
  3. (obsolete) To swallow or eat greedily; to devour; hence, to swallow up.
  4. (dialectal, intransitive) To evade by stooping; to lurk; lie in wait; go about in a sneaking way.
  5. (dialectal, intransitive) To take by surprise; to unexpectedly detain.
  6. (obsolete, transitive) To rob.
  7. (dialectal) A lift or heave.
  8. A predicament or difficult situation.

Example Sentences

the lurch of a ship, or of a drunkard
The ship was driving rapidly towards the rocky coast, against which she must have been dashed to pieces had she kept afloat a few minutes longer, but she gave a lurch and went down, rose again for an instant, and with another lurch sank, and all was over,—and there were nearly two hundred and fifty human beings struggling with the waves.
Yet I hoped by grouting at the earth below it to be able to dislodge the stone at the side; but while I was considering how best to begin, the candle flickered, the wick gave a sudden lurch to one side, and I was left in darkness.
It occurred to me there was no time to lose, and dodging the boom as it once more lurched across the deck, I slipped aft and down the companion stairs into the cabin.
The incident made it think, apparently, that the neighborhood was dangerous, for it slowly lurched off through the wood, followed by its mate and its three enormous infants.
Number One lurched forward, his arms outstretched toward the horror stricken girl.
He was looking for trouble. He lurched against a table at which three soldiers were sitting and knocked over a glass of beer.
Too far off from great cities, which may hinder business; too near them, which lurcheth all provisions, and maketh everything dear.

Synonyms for lurch

desolateshiftpitchstaggercareenstumbleforsakekeelprowldesertswagabandonlungepitchingreelskunk

Antonyms for lurch

Related Words

reelstaggerstumbleswagpitchingprowldesolateforsakeabandonlungedesertshiftcareenkeelskunkpitchmessdistresstroublehardship

Word Forms

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does lurch mean?

Lurch means A sudden or unsteady movement..

What is a synonym for lurch?

Common synonyms include desolate, shift, pitch, stagger.

What is the opposite of lurch?

The opposite depends on the specific sense.

How do you use lurch in a sentence?

the lurch of a ship, or of a drunkard

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.