Home US English skulk

Definition of skulk in English:

skulk

Pronunciation /skəlk/

intransitive verb

[no object]

  • 1Keep out of sight, typically with a sinister or cowardly motive.

    ‘don't skulk outside the door like a spy!’
    • ‘Unlike the absconding narrators who skulk out of sight in most modern novels, James refuses to hide behind the mask of authorial anonymity.’
    • ‘McCabe apparently got all his information by skulking in the bushes outside the Goldstein's place night after night.’
    • ‘I skulk outside the crematorium gates in that suit, which I've borrowed again from my housemate Paul.’
    • ‘I would skulk in alleys and hide in closets and tap phone lines.’
    • ‘The only answer is to stay away, to skulk at home with the door locked, then complain about democratic illegitimacy later.’
    • ‘They did not have to ask society's permission to express their natural desires, or to skulk ashamedly when they did so outside of marriage.’
    • ‘She prepared herself, skulking silently behind several crates, the door opened seconds later.’
    • ‘Porter's Hobart skulks beneath a starry crucifix that has tilted sideways.’
    • ‘And since I didn't want anyone to know I was worried about this, I've been sulking and skulking and letting the discontent grow.’
    • ‘After I dropped them off, I took a ride. I saw 2 jackals skulking up the road and an unidentified fox crossed in front of me.’
    • ‘There are still some stragglers awaiting relocation, skulking up there on the top shelf trying to avoid detection.’
    • ‘His first song was played on his knees, pulling the mic down as if he were skulking in the corner of the room, wanting to play, but not make a drama out of it.’
    • ‘At this point, the guard, who had been skulking around listening to our conversation, decided to stick his oar in.’
    1. 1.1with adverbial of direction Move stealthily or furtively.
      ‘he spent most of his time skulking about the corridors’
      • ‘While the others slept peacefully, I was slinking and skulking around in the dark.’
      • ‘It looked to be another clear day, so he'd spend most of it outside, skulking about the forest as usual.’
      • ‘I strode out of the room, and slammed the door, before skulking off upstairs again.’
      • ‘I threw my bag down by the door and skulked off into the kitchen.’
      • ‘The Bat skulked away and has lived in dark corners and holes ever since, never showing himself except in the near dark of latening twilight.’
      • ‘She hissed, and skulked into her bedroom, closing and locking the door behind her.’
      • ‘While Barbara stays up in the clocktower tracking crime on the web, Helena skulks through the dark New Gotham nights kicking villainous butt.’
      • ‘She spent some time skulking off behind barns for a smoke: ‘Yeah, and nicking fags off Dad.’’
      • ‘She didn't go skulking around behind your back.’
      • ‘The problem with shooting over at Bellevue is that there are a lot of borderline psych cases skulking around.’
      • ‘In recent weeks some shady looking characters have been seen skulking around the Dunamaise Theatre at night.’
      • ‘Across the road I noticed some youths skulking around.’
      • ‘From that came all the images of some upper-class fellow in a top hat and cape skulking through foggy gaslit Whitechapel.’
      • ‘Matt and Ken wonder why they ever left Czechoslovakia, where all they had to worry about was the odd Vampire skulking about.’
      • ‘Rather, Robertson, skulking ahead, has now downgraded his earlier call to murder and mayhem to mere kidnapping.’
      • ‘If skulking losers can kill 90 people, imagine what they can accomplish if this emboldens them and they are no longer skulking.’
      • ‘I'm too busy taking photos of myself, skulking around NZD, and considering how names like Aethelbald are parental cruelty.’
      • ‘The only element Kurtzman adds to shape the events is drama, which serves to tease out the absurdity skulking just below the romantic surface.’
      • ‘Although Paul Walker is the ‘star,’ we can see a couple of half-decent character actors skulking through the works here and there.’
      • ‘And, of course, there are all these people wringing their hands and skulking around in the back. [Laughs.]’
      lurk, loiter, hide, conceal oneself, lie in wait, keep out of sight
      View synonyms
    2. 1.2Shirk one's duties or responsibilities.
      ‘we were accused of skulking’
      • ‘We do not skulk away from our responsibility of launching revolutionary violence to meet counter-violence.’

noun

  • A group of foxes.

    ‘the skulk howls away into the night’

Origin

Middle English of Scandinavian origin; compare with Norwegian skulka ‘lurk’, and Danish skulke, Swedish skolka ‘shirk’.

Pronunciation

skulk

/skəlk/