Entry · catalog no. 7031
lurkin
/ /ˈlɜːrkɪn/ /LUR-kin
v. · Chicago drill · 2010s
✓ Verified
1.
Moving unseen through a rival's area to watch for or confront enemies (opps); creeping with intent.
“They said the opps was lurkin on the block.”
Origin & Attribution
Chicago drill vernacular of the 2010s, where lurkin names the act of slipping into rival territory to surveil or confront. The word carries the weight of a scene born on the city's South and West Sides. King Von and Funkmaster Flex titled a 2020 record "Lurkin," fixing the term in the drill canon. Documented plainly here as street language, not endorsed.
early 2010s
Current in Chicago drill speech
2018
Cataloged in Tony Thorne's drill glossary
2020
King Von & Funkmaster Flex release 'Lurkin'
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
The Midwest
Chicago drill · 2010s
Spoken by
Chicago drill scene; Black Chicago
$LURKINThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Rising14 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
60/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
2012
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@chitown
Chicago, IL
@detlex
Detroit, MI
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
King Von & Funkmaster Flex, 'Lurkin'
2020
■
+ Cite a sourceTony Thorne, 'A Drill Dictionary'
2018
See also