skew

American  

[skyoo] / skyu /

verb (used with object)

1. to give an oblique direction to; shape, form, or cut obliquely.

   In a crochet project, a slip stitch can skew the edge a bit if you use it to finish the final round.

2. to make conform to a specific concept, attitude, or planned result; slant.

   The television show is skewed to the young teenager.

3. to distort; depict unfairly.

   When other researchers looked into the report, they found misrepresentation of data that skewed the evidence.

4. Statistics. to cause (a distribution) to have a disproportionate number of data points above or below the mean.

   The income categories for transit commuters were skewed toward higher incomes because the survey was only distributed through a phone app.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to turn aside or swerve; take an oblique course.

   The car skewed sharply to the right when it hit the patch of ice.

2. to display a tendency in a particular direction.

   My reading skews toward nonfiction, which I suppose isn't that surprising for a historian.

3. to be distorted or unfairly depicted.

   The narrative presented by the country's leading newspapers skews toward an account that fits the needs of the state.

4. to look obliquely; squint.

noun

1. a tendency in a particular direction.

   Officials involved in budget-related discussions said that there was a skew towards social sector spending.

2. an oblique movement, direction, or position.

3. Also called skew chisel.  a wood chisel having a cutting edge set obliquely.

adjective

1. having an oblique direction or position; slanting; sideways.

   The picture is square, but the angles of the trees give it a skew look.

2. having a part that deviates from a straight line, right angle, etc..

   skew gearing.

3. Mathematics. (of a dyad or dyadic) equal to the negative of its conjugate.

4. (of an arch, bridge, etc.) having the centerline of its opening forming an oblique angle with the direction in which its spanning structure is built.

5. Statistics. (of a distribution) not symmetrical; having skewness.

skew British  

/ skjuː /

adjective

1. placed in or turning into an oblique position or course

2. machinery having a component that is at an angle to the main axis of an assembly or is in some other way asymmetrical

   a skew bevel gear

3. maths

   1. composed of or being elements that are neither parallel nor intersecting as, for example, two lines not lying in the same plane in a three-dimensional space

   2. (of a curve) not lying in a plane

4. (of a statistical distribution) not having equal probabilities above and below the mean; non-normal

5. distorted or biased

---

noun

1. an oblique, slanting, or indirect course or position

2. psychol the system of relationships in a family in which one parent is extremely dominating while the other parent tends to be meekly compliant

verb

1. to take or cause to take an oblique course or direction

2. (intr) to look sideways; squint

3. (tr) to place at an angle

4. (tr) to distort or bias

skew Scientific  

/ skyo̅o̅ /

1. A transformation of coordinates in which one coordinate is displaced in one direction in proportion to its distance from a coordinate plane or axis. A rectangle, for example, that undergoes skew is transformed into a parallelogram.

2. Also called shear

---

Etymology

Origin of skew

First recorded in 1350–1400; (for the verb) Middle English skewen “to slip away, swerve,” from Middle Dutch schuwen “to get out of the way, shun,” derivative of schu ( Dutch schuw ) shy ¹; adjective derivative of the verb, probably by analogy with askew; noun derivative of the verb and adjective

Explanation

To skew is to turn or place at an angle. When you build a house of cards, you must slightly angle, or skew each card, so structure will stand up. From the Middle English skewen ("swerve"), this verb was born to describe things in the physical world. Nowadays, though, we encounter it more informally: If you're in advertising, you might skew (target, aim) your commercials toward a particular demographic. Even before that, you may collect some statistical data on your intended audience, and then make sure that data is accurate, because bad or irrelevant info might skew (distort, inaccurately depict) the results of your research.

Example Sentences

“I would interpret it as a healthy market that’s buying some protection with the market up 25% year to date,” Purves said of the climb in the Skew Index.

From Reuters • Dec. 12, 2019

Analysts may shrug off the elevated level of the Skew Index, but that isn’t to say there is no fear on Wall Street.

From Reuters • Dec. 12, 2019

On Monday, the Skew Index hit 136.56, its highest since October 2018.

From Reuters • Dec. 12, 2019

Skew too far toward the new and untested and disappoint those expecting brand-name directors; fall back on the tried and true and pass over a rising star.

From New York Times • May 10, 2016

I call her Skew Gee, because her first name is Sue.

From Heart of Gold by Brown, Ruth Alberta

Related Words

• alter
• bias
• misrepresent
• slant