SKULK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does skulk mean? 

• SKULK (verb)
  The verb SKULK has 3 senses:

1. lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner

2. avoid responsibilities and duties, e.g., by pretending to be ill

3. move stealthily

  Familiarity information: SKULK used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SKULK (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they skulk    ... he / she / it skulks   
Past simple: skulked   
Past participle: skulked   
-ing form: skulking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

lurk; skulk

Hypernyms (to "skulk" is one way to...):

conceal; hide (prevent from being seen or discovered)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

skulker (someone waiting in concealment)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Avoid responsibilities and duties, e.g., by pretending to be ill

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

malinger; skulk

Hypernyms (to "skulk" is one way to...):

fiddle; goldbrick; shirk; shrink from (avoid (one's assigned duties))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

skulker (someone shirking their duty by feigning illness or incapacity)

skulking (evading duty or work by pretending to be incapacitated)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Move stealthily

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The lonely man skulks down the main street all day

Hypernyms (to "skulk" is one way to...):

walk (use one's feet to advance; advance by steps)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

Sam cannot skulk Sue

 Context examples 

You'd be as rich as kings if you could find it, and you know it's here, and you stand there skulking.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

He walked fast, hunted by his fears, chattering to himself, skulking through the less frequented thoroughfares, counting the minutes that still divided him from midnight.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

I have nothing more to say, Mr. Holmes, except that I was angry with my wife that night for having held me back when I might have caught the skulking rascal.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The camp was suddenly discovered to be alive with skulking furry forms,—starving huskies, four or five score of them, who had scented the camp from some Indian village.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

It is one thing to be idle and skulk and quite another to take a ship and murder a number of innocent men.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Was it a fierce tiger of crime, which could only be taken fighting hard with flashing fang and claw, or would it prove to be some skulking jackal, dangerous only to the weak and unguarded?

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Budge, you skulk!” cried Pew.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)