1. An unsteady uneven gait
   "His lurch betrayed his intoxication";
   - stumble, stagger
    
2. Abrupt up-and-down motion (as caused by a ship or other conveyance)
   "the lurch and tossing was quite exciting";
   - pitch, pitching
    
3. The act of moving forward suddenly
   "His lurch towards the door nearly knocked over a lamp";
   - lunge
    
4. A decisive defeat in a game (especially in cribbage)
   "His opponent left him in the lurch, winning by a large margin"

1. Walk as if unable to control one's movements
   "The drunken man lurched into the room";
   - stagger, reel, keel, careen
    
2. Move abruptly
   "The ship suddenly lurched to the left";
   - pitch, shift
    
3. Move slowly and unsteadily
   "The truck lurched down the road"
    
4. (card game) defeat by a lurch
   "He lurched his opponent in the final hand";
   - skunk [N. Amer, informal]
    
5. [archaic] Loiter about, with no apparent aim
   "Teenagers lurched about the mall on weekends";
   - prowl

Derived forms: lurched, lurching, lurches

Type of: defeat, dillydally [informal], dilly-dally [informal], footle [informal], gait, get the better of, go, hang around, lallygag [N. Amer, informal], linger, loaf [informal], locomote, loiter, lollygag [N. Amer, informal], lounge, lurk, mess about [informal], mill about, mill around, mooch [Brit, informal], motility, motion, move, movement, overcome, tarry, travel, walk

Encyclopedia: Lurch