lurch

Study(17)

/lɜːt͡ʃ/

verb 7noun 5

Collocations

(noun.)

ADJ

little | sickening, sudden, violent

VERB + LURCH

give

The boat gave a sudden lurch as a wave hit the side.

feel

She felt a sudden lurch in her stomach as the airplane hit turbulence.

PREP

with a ~

The boat suddenly tilted with a lurch, sending drinks sliding across the table.

~ into

After losing his job, he took a lurch into a completely new career as a chef.

(verb.)

ADV

violently

The ship lurched violently to one side during the terrible storm.

slightly

backwards, forward, sideways

The boat lurched sideways when a large wave hit it.

PREP

along

The drunk man lurched along the sidewalk, bumping into lamp posts as he walked.

into

The drunk passenger lurched into the nearest seat as the train suddenly stopped.

towards

The drunk man lurched towards the bar to steady himself.

PHRASES

lurch to your feet

When the train suddenly stopped, she lurched to her feet and grabbed the handrail.

Definitions

noun

A sudden or unsteady movement.

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.

verb

To make such a sudden, unsteady movement.

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.

verb

To swallow or eat greedily; to devour; hence, to swallow up.

Too far off from great cities, which may hinder business; too near them, which lurcheth all provisions, and maketh everything dear.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — an unsteady uneven gait

noun — the act of moving forward suddenly

lunge

noun — abrupt up-and-down motion (as caused by a ship or other conv

verb — defeat by a lurch

skunk

verb — move abruptly

verb — walk as if unable to control one's movements

verb — loiter about, with no apparent aim

prowl

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

leave someone in the lurch

To abandon somebody; especially, to abandon somebody and leave him or her in a difficult situation.

He left me in the lurch and I had to finish the whole project by myself.

Example Bank

the lurch of a ship, or of a drunkard

Wiktionary

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

Wiktionary

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 sid

Wiktionary

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.

Wiktionary

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.

Wiktionary

Number One lurched forward, his arms outstretched toward the horror stricken girl.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, lurch is marked as obsolete. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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