# lurk

> English word · Verb · IPA /lɜːk/ · frequency rank #25,463

## Definitions
1. To remain concealed in order to ambush.
2. To remain unobserved.
3. To hang out or wait around a location, preferably without drawing attention to oneself.
4. To read an Internet forum without posting comments or making one's presence apparent.
5. To saddle (a person) with an undesirable task or duty.

## Etymology
From Middle English lurken, from Old Norse *lúrka, possibly from Proto-Germanic *lūrukōną (“to be lying in wait, lurk”), equivalent to lour + -k (frequentative suffix).
Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk lurka (“to sneak away, go slowly”), dialectal Swedish lurka (“to dawdle, be slow in one's work”), Saterland Frisian lüürkje (“to look secretly, spy”), West Frisian luorkje (“to lurk”), Middle Low German lûrken (“to deceitfully stalk”).

## Easily confused with
- **lux** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lurk-vs-lux)
- **luv** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lurk-vs-luv)
- **luz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lurk-vs-luz)
- **lust** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lurk-vs-lust)
- **lush** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lurk-vs-lush)
- **luxe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lurk-vs-luxe)
- **lutz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lurk-vs-lutz)
- **lute** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lurk-vs-lute)
- **lyra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lurk-vs-lyra)
- **lyre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lurk-vs-lyre)
- **lu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lu-vs-lurk)
- **LR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lr-vs-lurk)
- **lug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lug-vs-lurk)
- **Lui** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lui-vs-lurk)
- **Luo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/luo-vs-lurk)
- **LRT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lrt-vs-lurk)
- **lor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lor-vs-lurk)
- **lar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lar-vs-lurk)
- **Lua** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lua-vs-lurk)
- **lun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lun-vs-lurk)

## Common misspellings (6)
`llurk`, `lruk`, `lukr`, `lurkk`, `lurrk`, `ulrk`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/lurk