/ ʃɜːk; NAmE ʃɜːrk/ verb
shirk (from) (sth / doing sth) to avoid doing sth you should do, especially because you are too lazy :
[ v ]
Discipline in the company was strict and no one shirked.
A determined burglar will not shirk from breaking a window to gain entry.
[ vn ]
She never shirked her responsibilities.
[also v -ing ]
► shirk·er noun
••
WORD ORIGIN
mid 17th cent. (in the sense practise fraud or trickery ): from obsolete shirk sponger , perhaps from German Schurke scoundrel.