Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Origin: Perhaps from German schurke 'bad man'

shirk

 verb
     
shirk [intransitive and transitive]
to deliberately avoid doing something you should do, because you are lazy:
He was fired for shirking.
shirk your responsibilities/duties/obligations
parents who shirk their responsibilities towards their children
—shirker noun [countable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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