skitter

[skit-er]

See more synonyms for skitter on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to go, run, or glide lightly or rapidly.
to skim along a surface.
Angling. to draw a lure or a baited hook over the water with a skipping motion.

verb (used with object)

to cause to skitter.

Origin of skitter

1835–45; skit, variant of skite¹ + -er⁶

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for skittered

tiptoe, flit, scamper, bound, ricochet, lope, skim, scoot, graze, carom, gambol, prance, fly, buck, frisk, run, caper, skedaddle, canter, dance

Examples from the Web for skittered

Contemporary Examples of skittered

Keith had me do this as I skittered across the gym like a giraffe at watering hole.
Does Sexercise Work?
Meghan Pleticha
May 26, 2010

Historical Examples of skittered

He skittered on all fours till he reached the middle of the path.
The Best Made Plans
Everett B. Cole
I skittered off toward the door to the stage, because that was the easiest direction.
No Great Magic
Fritz Reuter Leiber
They skittered across the floor, one of them slipping through the heating-grating.
Makers
Cory Doctorow
He skittered over the water, going down and coming up, until he had leaped seven times.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey
She was shrieking, laughing as she skittered past him, clutching a gleaming gold helmet.
Dream Town
Henry Slesar

British Dictionary definitions for skittered

skitter

verb

(intr often foll by off) to move or run rapidly or lightly; scamper
to skim or cause to skim lightly and rapidly, as across the surface of water
(intr) angling to draw a bait lightly over the surface of water

Word Origin for skitter

C19: probably from dialect skite to dash about; related to Old Norse skjōta to shoot

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

Word Origin and History for skittered

skitter

"to run rapidly," 1845, frequentative of skite "to dart, run quickly" (1721), perhaps from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse skjota "to shoot, launch, move quickly, avoid (a blow)," or Norwegian dialectal skutla "glide rapidly"); see skittish. As a noun from 1905.