I. ˈshərk, ˈshə̄k, ˈshəik verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: origin unknown
intransitive verb
1.
a. obsolete : to live by trickery and fraud : shark , sponge
b. chiefly dialect : to take care of oneself under somewhat difficult circumstances : fend , shift
2. : to go stealthily : sneak
obliged to shirk on board by night to escape from their wives — W.M.Thackeray
3.
a. : to withdraw because of lack of courage
one of the cities shirked from the league — Lord Byron
b. : to evade the performance of an obligation because of laziness or fear
the timid flee, the lazy shirk — H.A.Overstreet
transitive verb
1.
a. : to avoid (as a disagreeable task) because of laziness, lack of courage, or distaste
he had of course shirked telling her that no marriage would occur that day — Arnold Bennett
b. : to evade meeting (as a person) : dodge
shirked his gaze
2. : to shift (as a responsibility) elsewhere
if he could shirk off the work upon the others he would — Nathaniel Hawthorne
Synonyms: see dodge
II. noun
( -s )
1. obsolete : one who lives by trickery and fraud : shark
2. : one who shirks work or obligations
was a lazy bum, a no-good, and a shirk — American Songbag
3.
a. : an act of shirking
saw the many shirks from doing his duty of which Hamlet was guilty — F.J.Furnivall
b. : the practice of shirking
work that is not needed and whose spirit of shirk inevitably demoralizes men — C.H.Rowell