stalk — to follow or watch someone secretly and persistently
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to follow or watch someone secretly and persistently
Pronunciation (IPA): /stɔːk/
Example Sentences
- My cat likes to stalk invisible enemies in the hallway at 3 AM.
- She stalked out of the restaurant when they said pineapple pizza wasn't available.
- The detective had to stalk the suspect for three days to gather evidence.
stalk
VERB[/stɔːk/]
to follow or watch someone secretly and persistently
While the woman enjoyed a peaceful walk in the bright park, a dark figure hid in the shadows to silently stalk her every move.
ST(stealthy) + ALK(walk) — deciding to ALK(walk) in a completely ST(stealthy) manner, the hungry tiger began to stalk its prey.
While he was taking a quiet midnight walk, a terrifying monster began to aggressively stalk him from the bushes.
Got the picture? Now let's practice.
🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From Middle English stalken, likely from Old English stealcian meaning 'to walk stiffly or cautiously.' The word may be related to Old Norse stolka, suggesting Germanic origins.
Breakdown
stalk (single morpheme, no productive breakdown) - originally a verb meaning 'to walk stealthily,' later extended to mean 'to pursue or follow persistently'
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“My cat likes to stalk invisible enemies in the hallway at 3 AM.”
“She stalked out of the restaurant when they said pineapple pizza wasn't available.”
“The detective had to stalk the suspect for three days to gather evidence.”
“The bamboo stalks in the garden grew incredibly fast this season.”
📚Related Words
Want to master 27,000+ words?
Sign up free for flashcards & quizzes.