overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

shirk.

To avoid, especially a duty, responsibility, etc.; to stay away from.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ʃɜːk/Received-Pronunciation/ʃɝk/General-American
  1. To avoid, especially a duty, responsibility, etc.; to stay away from.

    transitive
  2. To evade an obligation; to avoid the performance of duty, as by running away.

    intransitive
    If you have a job, don't shirk from it by staying off work.
  3. To procure by petty fraud and trickery; to obtain by mean solicitation.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

First use appears c. 1633, in the publications of Shackerley Marmion, apparently from association with shark (verb), or otherwise directly from German Schurke (“rogue, knave”).

noun/ʃɜːk/Received-Pronunciation/ʃɝk/General-American
  1. One who shirks, who avoids a duty or responsibility.

Where this word comes from

First use appears c. 1633, in the publications of Shackerley Marmion, apparently from association with shark (verb), or otherwise directly from German Schurke (“rogue, knave”).

noun/ʃɜːk/UK/ʃɝk/US
  1. The unforgivable sin of association (claiming something or someone can share in the oneness of God).

    uncountable
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Arabic شِرْك (širk).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

shirk has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

shirk studioshirk workshello, shirk

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.