Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lurch

/lɜɹt͡ʃ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.79 in modern English

Syllables
lurch
IPA
/lɜɹt͡ʃ/
10
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A sudden or unsteady movement.

verb

To make such a sudden, unsteady movement.

verb

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

Obsolete

verb

To evade by stooping; to lurk; lie in wait; go about in a sneaking way.

Intransitive verb

verb

To take by surprise; to unexpectedly detain.

Intransitive verb

verb

To rob.

Obsolete; Transitive verb

noun

A lift or heave.

noun

A predicament or difficult situation.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

Originally a nautical term, found in lee-larches (“the sudden and violent rolls of a ship to the leeward in high seas”), of unknown origin. Possibly the same as lurch (“to move stealthily, evade by stooping”) (see below), or from French lâcher (“to let go”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: lâcher, *lurchen, *lurcher, lurcō, lorchen, lurken

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /lɜɹt͡ʃ/
  • British English: /lɜːt͡ʃ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

leave someone in the lurch left in the lurch Lurch in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Frequently Paired Words

leave someone in the lurch left in the lurch Lurch in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce lurch?
The recorded pronunciation is /lɜɹt͡ʃ/.
What does lurch mean?
A sudden or unsteady movement.
Where does lurch come from?
It is traced to French.

How to pronounce lurch

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “lurch”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/lɜɹt͡ʃ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “lurch”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “lurch” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.