stalk
[verb]
Synonyms: pursue, follow, haunt, hunt, shadow, track

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Related Words: follow, track, drive, chase, pursue, walk up, flush (out), ambush

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English Thesaurus: follow, chase, run after somebody/go after somebody, stalk, pursue, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. stalk¹ /stɔːk $ stɒːk/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: Perhaps from stale 'step of a ladder, long handle' (11-19 centuries), from Old English stalu]

1. a long narrow part of a plant that supports leaves, fruits, or flowers:
celery stalks

2. a thin upright object

3. sb’s eyes are out on stalks British English informal if your eyes are out on stalks, you are very surprised or shocked

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. stalk² verb
[Language: Old English; Origin: bestealcian]

1. [transitive] to follow a person or animal quietly in order to catch and attack or kill them ⇒ shadow:
a tiger stalking its prey
We know the rapist stalks his victims at night.

2. [transitive] to follow and watch someone over a long period of time in a way that is very annoying or threatening, and that is considered a crime in some places:
She was stalked by an obsessed fan.

3. [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to walk in a proud or angry way, with long steps
stalk out/off/away
Yvonne turned and stalked out of the room in disgust.

4. [transitive] literary if something bad stalks a place, you see or feel it everywhere in that place:
Fear stalks every dark stairwell and walkway.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

follow to walk, drive etc behind or after someone, for example in order to see where they are going:
The man had followed her home to find out where she lived.
Follow that car!
He hired a detective to follow her.
chase to quickly run or drive after someone or something in order to catch them when they are trying to escape:
Police chased the car along the motorway at speeds of up to 90 mph.
run after somebody/go after somebody to quickly follow someone or something in order to stop them or talk to them:
I ran after him to say sorry, but he’d already got on the bus.
stalk /stɔːk $ stɒːk/ to secretly follow an animal in order to kill it, or to secretly follow a person in order to attack them:
a tiger stalking its prey
He had a long history of stalking women in his neighbourhood.
pursue /pəˈsjuː $ pərˈsuː/ written to chase someone in a very determined way:
The ship was being pursued by enemy submarines.
give chase written to chase someone or something who is trying to escape from you:
One of the officers gave chase and arrested the man.
The calf ran away and the lion gave chase.
tail to secretly follow someone in order to watch what they do and where they go:
Apparently, the police had been tailing the terrorists for months.
track to follow and find a person or animal by looking at the marks they leave on the ground:
The bushmen were tracking antelope in the Kalahari desert.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲