Stalking
//ˈstɔːkɪŋ// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of going stealthily. countable, uncountable
"A tiny cub is learning the art of stalking a little too well it seems. A video posted on social media shows the cub surprising its mamma and giving her a huge fright. The short clip makes for a delightful watch."
- 2 The removal of stalks from bunches of grapes prior to winemaking. countable, uncountable
- 3 the act of following prey stealthily wordnet
- 4 Hunting for game by moving silently and stealthily or by waiting in ambush. countable, uncountable
- 5 a hunt for game carried on by following it stealthily or waiting in ambush wordnet
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- 6 The crime of following or harassing another person, causing that person to fear death or injury. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 present participle and gerund of stalk form-of, gerund, participle, present
Example
More examples"That you should be stalking Hanako! You'd been quiet recently so I'd let my guard down."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English stalkynge, stalkyng, from Old English stealcung, from Proto-West Germanic *stalkungu, equivalent to stalk + -ing.
Etymology 2
From stalk (“the stem of a plant”) + -ing.
Related phrases
More for "stalking"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.