Webster's English Dictionary

Enter the word to look up:

lurch

1. lurch \'l*rch\ vb [ME lorchen, prob. alter. of lurken to lurk] dial 
   chiefly Eng  : to loiter about a place furtively : PROWL  obs  1: to obtain 
   by fraud or stealth : STEAL  archaic  2: to do out of something : CHEAT 
2. lurch n archaic  : an act of lurching : a state of watchful readiness 
3. lurch n [MF lourche, adj., defeated by a lurch, deceived] obs  1: an act 
   or instance of discomfiture : SETBACK  2: a decisive defeat in which an 
   opponent wins a game by more than double t he defeated player's score esp. 
   in cribbage : in a vulnerable and unsupported position  - in the lurch 
4. lurch vt 1: to defeat by a lurch (as in cribbage)  archaic  2: to leave 
   in the lurch 
5. lurch n [origin unknown] 1: a sudden roll of a ship to one side  2: an 
   act or instance of swaying or tipping; esp : a staggering gai t
6. lurch vi : to roll or tip abruptly : PITCH; also : STAGGER