shirk
verb /ʃɜːk/
/ʃɜːrk/
[intransitive, transitive] (disapproving)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they shirk | /ʃɜːk/ /ʃɜːrk/ |
| he / she / it shirks | /ʃɜːks/ /ʃɜːrks/ |
| past simple shirked | /ʃɜːkt/ /ʃɜːrkt/ |
| past participle shirked | /ʃɜːkt/ /ʃɜːrkt/ |
| -ing form shirking | /ˈʃɜːkɪŋ/ /ˈʃɜːrkɪŋ/ |
- to avoid doing something you should do, especially because you are too lazy
- Discipline in the company was strict and no one shirked.
- shirk from something/doing something A determined burglar will not shirk from breaking a window to gain entry.
- shirk something/doing something She never shirked her responsibilities.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryShirk is used with these nouns as the object:- duty
- responsibility
Word Originmid 17th cent. (in the sense ‘practise fraud or trickery’): from obsolete shirk ‘sponger’, perhaps from German Schurke ‘scoundrel’.