Link Centre Dictionary

lurch

UK/lɜːt͡ʃ/ US/lɜɹt͡ʃ/ uncommon obsolete
verb (5) noun (4)

verb

1.

walk as if unable to control one''s movements

  • “The drunken man staggered into the room”
Synonyms
2.

move abruptly

  • “The ship suddenly lurched to the left”
Synonyms
3.

move slowly and unsteadily

  • “The truck lurched down the road”
4.

loiter about, with no apparent aim

Synonyms
5.

defeat by a lurch

Synonyms

noun

1.
2.
3.

abrupt up-and-down motion (as caused by a ship or other conveyance)

  • “the pitching and tossing was quite exciting”
Synonyms
4.

the act of moving forward suddenly

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English *lurche (implied in derivative lurching), from Old French lourche (“deceived, embarrassed; also the name of a game”), from Proto-West Germanic *lort (“left; left-handed; crooked; bent; warped; underhanded; deceitful; limping”). Cognate to English lirt.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.