usu. in sing.
- an abrupt uncontrolled movement, especially an unsteady tilt or roll突然倾斜, 突然摇晃：
the boat gave a violent lurch and he missed his footing.
船猛不丁地剧烈晃动了一下, 使他无法站稳。
no obj., with adverbial
- make an abrupt, unsteady, uncontrolled movement or series of movements; stagger颠簸前进; 蹒跚前行：
the car lurched forward
汽车颠簸着向前行驶
Stuart lurched to his feet
斯图尔特摇摇晃晃站了起来
figurative 〈喻〉he was lurching from one crisis to the next.
危机接二连三, 他还未站稳脚跟, 新的麻烦又向他袭来。
词源
late 17th cent. (as a noun denoting the sudden leaning of a ship to one side)： of unknown origin.
(用于短语 leave someone in the lurch)
- leave an associate or friend abruptly and without assistance or support when they are in a difficult situation弃（朋友等）于困境而不顾。
词源
mid 16th cent. (denoting a state of discomfiture)： from French lourche, the name of a game resembling backgammon, used in the phrase demeurer lourche 'be discomfited'.