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skirt

SaySKURT/skɚt//skɜːt/

Pluralskirts

Verbskirts, skirting, skirted

13 meanings of skirt

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  1. 1
    nouncountable or uncountable
    A piece of clothing, usually worn by women, that hangs from the waist and covers the legs.

    Like a soft tube of cloth that hangs from your waist down over your legs.

    She wore a pleated skirt to the office.

    The dancer's skirt swirled as she spun.

    Note
  2. 2
    verbtransitive
    To move along the edge of something instead of through the middle.

    Like walking around the edge of a puddle instead of straight through it.

    Drivers skirt the flooded road every winter.

    We skirted the big puddle to keep our shoes dry.

    Similarbypass, circumvent, circle, avoid

    Oppositecross, traverse

    Note
  3. 3
    verbfigurativelytransitive
    To avoid dealing with a problem or a question.

    Like stepping around a hole instead of fixing it.

    The mayor skirted the question about new taxes.

    Don't skirt the issue. Tell me what really happened.

    Similaravoid, evade, sidestep, dodge, circumvent

    Oppositeaddress, confront, tackle, face

    Note
  4. 4
    verbtransitive
    To lie along the edge of an area, or to form its border.

    Like a frame that runs all the way around the edge of a picture.

    Tall trees skirt the back of the yard.

    A low fence skirted the field.

    Similarborder, line, fringe, edge, flank

    Note
  5. 5
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The lower part of a dress that hangs down below the waist.

    The skirt of her dress brushed the floor.

    He stepped on the skirt of her gown by accident.

    Note
  6. 6
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The outer edge or border of something.

    They set up camp on the skirt of the woods.

    A small town sits on the skirt of the desert.

    Similaredge, fringe, border, margin, periphery

    Oppositecenter, heart, middle

    Note
  7. 7
    nouncountable or uncountable
    A loose strip of cloth added as an edging to part of a dress.

    A lace skirt trimmed the edge of her sleeve.

    The seamstress sewed a soft skirt of frills along the collar.

    Similarfrill, flounce, ruffle, trim

    Note
  8. 8
    verbtransitive
    To surround something, or cover its lower edge like a skirt.

    Like a ring of trees standing all the way around a house.

    Tall hedges skirt the cabin on all sides.

    Thick bushes skirted the old house.

    Similarsurround, encircle, ring, border, edge

    Note
  9. 9
    nounslangderogatorycountable or uncountable
    A rude slang word for a woman.

    Some skirt at the front desk took his message.

    He spent the whole night chasing skirts across the dance floor.

    Note
  10. 10
    nouncountable or uncountable
    An undergarment that hangs from the waist beneath a dress, called a petticoat.

    Under her gown she wore a plain cotton skirt for warmth.

    Maids in those days wore several skirts beneath the outer dress.

    Similarpetticoat, slip

Less common meanings

  1. 11
    nouncolloquialUKuncountable
    British slang for women seen together as targets of sexual interest.

    There's plenty of skirt at the club tonight.

    The lads went into town looking for skirt.

    Note
  2. 12
    nouncolloquialUKuncountable
    British slang for sex with a woman.

    He bragged that he hadn't had any skirt in months.

    All the sailors wanted after the long voyage was skirt.

    Note
  3. 13
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The muscle between the chest and the belly, also called the midriff.

    Like a flat sheet of muscle stretched between your chest and your stomach.

    The butcher trimmed the skirt and set it aside for stew.

    Cooks fry skirt quickly over a hot flame.

    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of skirt apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from Old Norse skyrta. It is related to the word shirt.