skirt

American  

[skurt] / skɜrt /

noun

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

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

3. 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.

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

5. Building Trades.

   1. baseboard.

   2. apron.

6. Also called apron.  Furniture.

   1. a flat horizontal brace set immediately beneath the seat of a chair, chest of drawers, or the like, to strengthen the legs.

   2. Also called bed, frieze.  a flat brace or support immediately beneath a tabletop.

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

8. Older Slang: Usually Disparaging and Offensive. a term used to refer to a woman or girl.

   to chase some skirt;

   a skirt chaser.

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

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verb (used with object)

1. to lie on or along the border of.

   The hills skirt the town.

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

3. to pass along or around the border or edge of.

   Traffic skirts the town.

4. to avoid, go around the edge of, or keep distant from (something that is controversial, risky, etc.).

   The senator skirted the issue.

   Synonyms:

   bypass, circle, shun, evade

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

verb (used without object)

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

2. to move along or around the border of something.

skirt British  

/ skɜːt /

noun

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

2. the part of a dress below the waist

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

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

5. a cut of beef from the flank

6. (often plural) a margin or outlying area

7. the lower part of a sheep's fleece

8. slang a girl or woman

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verb

1. (tr) to form the edge of

2. (tr) to provide with a border

3. to pass (by) or be situated (near) the outer edge of (an area, etc)

4. (tr) to avoid (a difficulty, etc)

   he skirted the issue

5. to remove the trimmings or inferior wool from (a fleece)

Other Word Forms

• skirted
  adjective
• skirtless
  adjective
• skirtlike
  adjective
• unskirted
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of skirt

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

Explanation

Unlike pants, which fully cover each of your legs separately, a skirt is basically a single piece of fabric covering part of your legs. If you want to show a little leg, wear a skirt! Skirts can be very short (like a miniskirt) or so long they drag on the ground. Long ago, skirt was also rude slang for a young woman. As a verb, skirt means "go around," like when you skirt a city instead of driving straight through it. The word outskirts, "outer parts or fringes" is related.

Example Sentences

Dressed in a blue suit jacket and skirt and accompanied by four lawyers, Wang listened to the proceeding through a Mandarin interpreter.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026

For a time, Chinese exporters intentionally mislabeled some shipments to skirt U.S. and European sanctions, but in many instances they no longer bother, according to former senior Treasury Department officials and weapons analysts.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

According to the artists, known together as Whitaker Malem, the breastplate was moulded from Jones's 1969 sculpture Hatstand, with the 88-year-old artist painting the attached leather skirt.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

Throughout the trial, the prosecution tried as much as possible to skirt the issue of free speech.

From Slate • May 4, 2026

Next to me a woman held a small clump of black mussels, her skirt soaked with spray.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Related Words

• bypass
• circumvent
• dodge
• elude
• evade
• ignore
• sidestep