skinny
Americanadjective
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very lean or thin; emaciated.
a skinny little kitten.
-
of or like skin.
-
unusually low or reduced; meager; minimal.
skinny profits.
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(of an object) narrow or slender.
skinny noodles.
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(of garments, especially pants) narrow and very tight-fitting.
skinny jeans; a skinny tank top.
noun
adjective
-
lacking in flesh; thin
-
consisting of or resembling skin
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of skinny
First recorded in 1565–75; skin + -y 1; skinny def. 6 is unclearly derived and perhaps a distinct word
Explanation
Someone who's skinny is thin. Your brother might be skinny enough to fit in the jeans he wore three years ago. A skinny person is slight or lean, and your skinny jeans are tight-fitting. You might order a skinny coffee drink at a cafe, meaning you'd like it to be made with skim milk. If someone offers to give you "the skinny" on something, they're revealing some secret information. This last, informal meaning stems from military slang during World War II, probably from the idea of "naked," or undisguised, truth.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Before he was a skinny piano player, he was a skinny accordion player.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
Eurocentric and Western beauty standards, further reinforced by 90s diet culture, also promoted skinny as the new sexy.
From Salon • May 17, 2026
From the beginning of her fame she was unlike anyone else: skinny, flat-chested and big-footed in an era of such voluptuous icons as Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
"I typed in 'weight-loss injections'. I just wanted to lose weight as quickly as I could. I thought if I was skinny again, people would accept me - and I'd accept myself."
From BBC • Feb. 22, 2026
I patted the floor next to me and he scooted over, skinny as a strand of the wool.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
