lurch

Universal Words verb, noun verb [V] 1 to make a sudden, unsteady movement forward or sideways: Suddenly the horse lurched to one side and the child fell off. * The man lurched drunkenly out of the pub. * (figurative) Their relationship seems to lurch from one crisis to the next. 2 if your heart or stomach lurches, you have a sudden feeling of fear or excitement noun [usuallysing.] a sudden strong movement that moves you forward or sideways and nearly makes you lose your balance: The train gave a violent lurch. * His heart gave a lurch when he saw her. * With a lurch the party found itself heading for a major crisis. IDIOMS leave sb in the lurch (informal) to fail to help sb when they are relying on you to do so: I'm sorry to leave you in the lurch but I can't do the presentation with you this afternoon. * She felt she had been left in the lurch by all her colleagues.