skewer

American  

[skyoo-er] / ˈskju ər /

noun

skewers plural

1. a long pin of wood or metal for inserting through meat or other food to hold or bind it in cooking.

2. any similar pin for fastening or holding an item in place.

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verb (used with object)

skewers, present (3rd person singular) skewered, past participle, past skewering present participle

1. to fasten with or as if with a skewer.

skewer British  

/ ˈskjʊə /

noun

1. a long pin for holding meat in position while being cooked, etc

2. a similar pin having some other function

3. chess a tactical manoeuvre in which an attacked man is made to move and expose another man to capture

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verb

1. (tr) to drive a skewer through or fasten with a skewer

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unskewered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• skewers
  plural

Participles

• skewering
  present
• skewered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• skewer
  simple
• skewers
  simple
• have skewered
  perfect
• has skewered
  perfect
• am skewering
  progressive
• are skewering
  progressive
• is skewering
  progressive
• have been skewering
  perfect progressive
• has been skewering
  perfect progressive

Past

• skewered
  simple
• had skewered
  perfect
• was skewering
  progressive
• were skewering
  progressive
• had been skewering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will skewer
  simple
• will have skewered
  perfect
• will be skewering
  progressive
• will have been skewering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of skewer

First recorded in 1670–80; earlier skiver < ?

Explanation

The pointed wooden stick you use to hold cubes of meat or vegetables together while they're cooking is called a skewer. You can also use a very long skewer to toast marshmallows over a campfire. As a verb, skewer means to push a skewer through food: "Would you skewer those shrimps, and toss them on the grill?" It's also an informal term meaning to criticize someone so harshly that it probably hurts them: "This opinion piece in the newspaper really skewers the President." Experts guess that skewer has a Scandinavian root, possibly the Old Norse skifa, "a cut or slice."

Example Sentences

The Chargers’ social media team has done it again, this time using the “Halo” video game format to skewer each and every opponent on their schedule.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

For decades, Chinese brothers Gao Zhen and Gao Qiang have made a name for themselves with sculptures like this: irreverent contemporary artworks that skewer the authoritarian past, and present, of their native homeland.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

And skewer others: the butterfly keyboard, FineWoven cases, walled gardens, Siri and AirPower.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

The play, which is having its Los Angeles premiere at Pasadena Playhouse, seems like it could have been commissioned to skewer this destructive, benighted and completely mortifying anti-science moment.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 17, 2025

The Grand High Witch whipped round as though someone had stuck a skewer into her bottom.

From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl