stalking
UK: ˈstɔːkɪŋ | US: ˈstɔːkɪŋ
n. 1. The act of following or observing someone persistently, often in a harassing or threatening manner.
n. 2. (Hunting) The stealthy pursuit of prey.
v. (gerund/present participle of stalk)
The word stalking derives from the verb stalk, which originated in Old English as stealcian ("to move stealthily"), related to stelan ("to steal"). The sense of "pursuing prey stealthily" dates back to hunting terminology, while the modern sense of "harassing pursuit" emerged in the late 20th century. The morpheme stalk retains its core meaning of covert movement, while -ing nominalizes the action.
The celebrity filed a complaint against the paparazzi for stalking her.
Stalking is a serious crime in many jurisdictions.
The tiger was stalking its prey through the tall grass.
She felt uneasy, convinced someone was stalking her online.
Police arrested the suspect for cyberstalking his ex-partner.