From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlurchlurch1 /lɜːtʃ $ lɜːrtʃ/ verb [intransitive] 1 MOVE/CHANGE POSITIONto walk or move suddenly in an uncontrolled or unsteady waylurch forward/to/towards/into etc Sam hit the gas and the car lurched forward. He lurched to his feet.2 → your heart/stomach lurches3 → lurch from one crisis/extreme etc to another→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
lurch• With an angry clang the machine lurched and rocked out even more.• Certainly his career has lurched chaotically, Gilliam says.• The truck smashed into the barrier, broke through it, lurched down an embankment.• The chassis lurched forward and then back sharply, knocking the four passengers off balance.• Paul lurched sideways as the boat rolled suddenly.• By the time they were lurching slowly along the cart track the wind had dropped, letting the clouds gather.• As the developer lurched toward bankruptcy, Prudential tried to renege on the deal.• Then, hunching his shoulders against the pounding rain, he lurched towards the barn.• Harriet lurched towards the bathroom, clutching her stomach in pain.• The Ship lurched up the hillside, straining at the indignity of restraint.lurch forward/to/towards/into etc• His foot shot to the brake and the car lurched to a stop before he could turn.• Sinaloa state, at least, has lurched into action.• The chassis lurched forward and then back sharply, knocking the four passengers off balance.• And then, with the sun on her, she lurched forward as a shot rang out from below.• Is that what we really want, before we irreversibly lurch into it?• He could see their pale faces watching Jekub lurch towards them.• It was a bright day and the official Zil lurched towards them.• Just as I was about to jump, the driver hit the gas and lurched forward, throwing me off.lurchlurch2 noun [countable] 1 MOVE/CHANGE POSITIONa sudden movement The train gave a violent lurch.2 → leave somebody in the lurchExamples from the Corpus
lurch• "I felt a lurch and then a big bump, " one resident said of the earthquake.• He was slew-footed and walked with an energetic lurch.• My stomach gave an involuntary lurch.• But they adopted it in the first place because Labour's lurch to the left drove them away from their old allegiance.• I waited for the lurch of dismounting troopers as the skids neared the ground.• The non-commissioned officers of the garrison on learning that they had been left in the lurch seized four of the remaining leaders.• How can we leave them in the lurch, in their teens, like that?Origin lurch2 1. (1800-1900) Origin unknown. 2. (1500-1600) lurch “defeat in the card game cribbage” ((16-21 centuries)), perhaps from early French lourche a game similar to backgammon 