skittle

[ skit-l ]

/ ˈskɪt l /

noun Chiefly British.

skittles, (used with a singular verb) ninepins in which a wooden ball or disk is used to knock down the pins.

one of the pins used in this game.

Words nearby skittle

skitch, skite, skitter, skittery, skittish, skittle, skittle out, skive, skiver, skivvy, skiwear

Origin of skittle

1625–35; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse skutill shuttle, arrow; Danish skyttel shuttle

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

Examples from the Web for skittle

There was also a skittle alley attached to the pub and no charge was made for the use of it.
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists|Robert Tressell
He pictured himself to be coming out of a Skittle Yard in his rusty round cap.
Rowlandson's Oxford|A. Hamilton Gibbs
Take my blessing, and stand not on the order of your going to it,—but skittle!
In the Onyx Lobby|Carolyn Wells
I seed Old Missy parch coffee in a skittle, and it good coffee, too.
Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves.|Work Projects Administration

So he sat for half an hour, quite motionless, and looking all the while like nothing so much as a great Dutch Pin or Skittle.
Barnaby Rudge|Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for skittle

skittle

/ (ˈskɪtəl) /

noun

a wooden or plastic pin, typically widest just above the base

Also called (esp US): ninepins (plural; functioning as singular) a bowling game in which players knock over as many skittles as possible by rolling a wooden ball at them

beer and skittles (often used with a negative) informal an easy time; amusement

Word Origin for skittle

C17: of obscure origin; perhaps related to Swedish, Danish skyttel shuttle

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