skirt

[ skurt ]

/ skɜrt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR skirt ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the part of a gown, dress, slip, or coat that extends downward from the waist.

a one-piece garment extending downward from the waist and not joined between the legs, worn especially by women and girls.

some part resembling or suggesting the skirt of a garment, as the flared lip of a bell or a protective and ornamental cloth strip covering the legs of furniture.

a small leather flap on each side of a saddle, covering the metal bar from which the stirrup hangs.

Building Trades.

Also called apron. Furniture.

a flat horizontal brace set immediately beneath the seat of a chair, chest of drawers, or the like, to strengthen the legs.
Also called bed, frieze.. a flat brace or support immediately beneath a tabletop.

Usually skirts. the bordering, marginal, or outlying part of a place, group, etc.; the outskirts.

Older Slang: Usually Disparaging and Offensive. a term used to refer to a woman or girl: to chase some skirt; a skirt chaser.

Rocketry. an outer part of a rocket or missile that provides structural support or houses such systems as avionics or gyroscopes.

verb (used with object)

to lie on or along the border of: The hills skirt the town.

to border, wrap, or cover with a skirt or something suggesting a skirt in appearance or function.

to pass along or around the border or edge of: Traffic skirts the town.

to avoid, go around the edge of, or keep distant from (something that is controversial, risky, etc.): The senator skirted the issue.

to remove low-grade wool and foreign matter from (the outer edge of fleece).

verb (used without object)

to be or lie on or along the edge of something.

to move along or around the border of something.

Nearby words

skirling, skirmish, skirnir, skirr, skirret, skirt, skirt chaser, skirt steak, skirter, skirting, skirting board

Origin of skirt

1250–1300; Middle English skirte < Old Norse skyrta shirt

SYNONYMS FOR skirt

13 evade, shun, circle, bypass.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR skirt ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

skirt·less, adjectiveskirt·like, adjectiveun·skirt·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for skirt

On stage, Amber spoofed Sarah Palin in a topknot and librarian glasses, yanking a toy gun and stuffed moose from her skirt.
Best Career Arc Ever: From Burlesque To Bartending|Anne Berry|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It would be impossible to do press for the film and skirt questions about the Jolie-Pitt nuptials.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Got Married and We’re Worried About Jennifer Aniston|Kevin Fallon, Tim Teeman|August 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Forced C-section debates often skirt or even devolve into a proxy pro-choice/pro-life debate, explains Diaz-Tello.
The Mom Forced to Have a C-Section|Emily Shire|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In November last year her Orla Kiely skirt blew up in the wind when she visited a charity function in London.
Kate Middleton's History of Flesh-Flashing Wardrobe Malfunctions|Tom Sykes|May 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The game consists of flooding the bathroom with water, hiking up your skirt, and then gliding over the stream.
‘Nymphomaniac,’ Lars von Trier’s Icy Orgy of Sex and Self-Loathing, Bows At Sundance|Marlow Stern|January 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her skirt was without a braid and frayed, and two buttons were gone from the front of her waist.
Selina|George Madden Martin
These patterns state length of skirt, waist and hip measure and quantity of material required in all widths.
Textiles and Clothing|Kate Heintz Watson
She had a moment of despair, then saw the skirt of Kit in the distance.
The Lion's Mouse|C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson
Sew the skirt to a band, and round the neck and sleeves with a vandyke edging as 2nd receipt.
Knitting, Crochet, and Netting, with Twelve Illustrations|lonore Riego de la Branchardire
Candidly, love, do you like a skirt without any drapery at all?
Belford's Magazine, Vol. II, No. 3, February 1889|Various

British Dictionary definitions for skirt

skirt

/ (skɜːt) /

noun

a garment hanging from the waist, worn chiefly by women and girls

the part of a dress below the waist

Also called: apron a frieze or circular flap, as round the base of a hovercraft

the flaps on a saddle that protect a rider's legs

British a cut of beef from the flank

(often plural) a margin or outlying area

NZ the lower part of a sheep's fleece

bit of skirt slang a girl or woman

verb

(tr) to form the edge of

(tr) to provide with a border

(when intr, foll by around, along, etc) to pass (by) or be situated (near) the outer edge of (an area, etc)

(tr) to avoid (a difficulty, etc)he skirted the issue

mainly Australian and NZ to remove the trimmings or inferior wool from (a fleece)

Derived Forms

skirted, adjective

Word Origin for skirt

C13: from Old Norse skyrta shirt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012