skinny
Americanadjective
-
skinnier,
comparative
-
skinniest
superlative
-
very lean or thin; emaciated.
a skinny little kitten.
-
of or like skin.
-
unusually low or reduced; meager; minimal.
skinny profits.
-
(of an object) narrow or slender.
skinny noodles.
-
(of garments, especially pants) narrow and very tight-fitting.
skinny jeans; a skinny tank top.
noun
-
skinnies
plural
adjective
-
lacking in flesh; thin
-
consisting of or resembling skin
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
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.
See Examples For:
Like skinny jeans, they eventually became unavoidable — and thus a bit stale, giving way to looser fits and bulkier “dad” sneakers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
So, what do you need to know about this pill version of the skinny jab?
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Many apartment buildings have a flimsy first floor, propped up by skinny supports to accommodate carports, garages or storefronts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
“Extreme diets: How Lindsay and Nicole got so skinny — but have they gone too far?” the honorable Us Weekly wondered.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
It was a good stomp for such a skinny bird.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
“It skinnies it a bit to make it a little more palatable going forward, but it focuses on some of our youngest learners and our highest-poverty elementary schools,” Riccelli said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
To loose-fit evangelists who have — since at least 2020, when comfort became the priority during pandemic lockdowns and denim brands struggled for survival — been declaring skinnies uncool, that may come as a surprise.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 27, 2023
The last thing he wants is for developers to swoop in and demolish buildings that could be saved, just to make way for tall skinnies and Airbnb’s.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 15, 2020
Casting aside the signature skinnies and grinnies that characterize the glossy pages of Elle and Vogue, Mirabella in its fashion pages features lesser-known models with figures of more realistic proportions.
From Time Magazine Archive
They cloth themselues with the skinnies of those beasts, because they haue nothing else to make them apparell withall.
From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation. Vol. XIII. America. Part II. by Richard Hakluyt
Type B communities offer a skinnier version of the lifecare contract.
From Barron's ● Jun. 20, 2026
But instead of portly people enjoying futuristic entertainment, we will all be skinnier thanks to today’s GLP-1 medications.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
The Mexican fan palm, supposedly brought here by the mission-building padres to supply Palm Sunday foliage, can grow taller, maybe 10 stories, and skinnier, and can dip and sway camera-readily in the wind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2025
Sophie T: It comes back to not needing to change yourself in a society that pressurises us constantly to be skinnier, taller, to read more books and be the best at hobbies.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2025
To Pax’s surprise, a smaller, skinnier version of herself unfurled at her paws.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
It can claim to be one of Britain's skinniest homes, but there was plenty of interest when a house in the south Wales valleys sold for just under £45,000, around twice the estimate.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
Around them you have Isthmus Cove, Catalina Harbor and half a mile of land in between them, the skinniest bit of the island.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2022
He was last seen struggling against the current, terribly emaciated, one of the skinniest orcas ever seen alive.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 16, 2021
I sneaked bread to the skinniest cows and mourned the death of each chicken, goat and dog.
From New York Times ● Jul. 31, 2020
Nan wore makeup, her skinniest, blackest jeans, and her biggest hoop earrings.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
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.
