Definition

1. Noun:
   • A person who follows or observes someone persistently and secretly, often in a threatening or harassing manner: A "stalker" is someone who engages in the act of stalking, which involves unwanted and obsessive attention towards another person.
   • A person who hunts game by stealthy approach: In the context of hunting, a "stalker" is someone who tracks or pursues wild animals carefully and quietly.
   • A person who walks with long, stiff, or haughty strides: This is a more archaic or literary meaning, describing someone who walks in a proud, stiff, or deliberate manner.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Person who follows/harasses):
  • The celebrity hired extra security due to a persistent stalker.
  • She obtained a restraining order against her stalker.
• Noun (Hunter):
  • The experienced stalker moved silently through the forest, tracking the deer.
• Noun (Person who walks stiffly):
  • In the old portrait, the nobleman stood like a proud stalker.

Advanced Usage

• "Cyberstalker": A person who uses the internet or electronic means to stalk or harass someone.
  • The police warned about the dangers of cyberstalkers on social media platforms.
• The term is often used in legal and psychological contexts to describe a pattern of behavior that causes fear.

Variants and Related Words

• Stalk (verb): To follow or observe a person or animal persistently and secretively.
  • He was arrested for attempting to stalk his former colleague.
• Stalking (noun): The act or crime of following and harassing another person.
  • Stalking is a serious offense with severe legal consequences.

Synonyms

• Prowler: Someone who moves about stealthily, especially with intent to commit a crime.
• Harasser: A person who subjects someone to aggressive pressure or intimidation.
• Tracker: A person who follows the tracks or signs of someone or something (closer to the hunting sense).

Related Phrases

• To have a stalker: To be the target of stalking behavior.
  • She feared she might have a stalker after noticing the same car outside her house every night.

Related Idioms

• "Like a stalker in the night": This phrase evokes the stealthy, threatening, and secretive behavior associated with a stalker.
  • The fog crept into the village like a stalker in the night.

Noun

1. someone who prowls or sneaks about; usually with unlawful intentions
2. someone who stalks game
3. someone who walks with long stiff strides