skiff

American  

[skif] / skɪf /

noun

1. any of various types of boats small enough for sailing or rowing by one person.

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skiff British  

/ skɪf /

noun

1. any of various small boats propelled by oars, sail, or motor

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Other Word Forms

• skiffless adjective

Etymology

Origin of skiff

1565–75; < early Italian schifo < Old High German scif ship ¹

Example Sentences

A skiff of snow fell on them, soft and pretty against the darkening gray sky.

From Literature

We were so far from home, we pushed on to the river, where a conductor was waiting with a skiff.

From Literature

People on the smaller vessel, a simple fishing skiff, held up cellphones like emergency flares in the night.

From The Wall Street Journal

First she had to get from the Caracas suburb where she has been in hiding for a year to a coastal fishing village, where a skiff awaited her.

From The Wall Street Journal

Madison especially thought pure direct democracy would prove unstable, a too-slight skiff heaved about in history’s seas.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• canoe
• dinghy
• rowboat