skive

American  

[skahyv] / skaɪv /

verb (used with object)

skived, skiving

1. to split or cut, as leather, into layers or slices.

2. to shave, as hides.

3. to finish the turning of (a metal object) by feeding a tool against it tangentially.

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skive ¹ British  

/ skaɪv /

verb

1. (tr) to shave or remove the surface of (leather)

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skive ² British  

/ skaɪv /

verb

1. informal to evade (work or responsibility)

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Etymology

Origin of skive

1815–25; perhaps < Old Norse skīfa slice

Example Sentences

Employers tend to provide workers control over their work when they trust and believe that will contribute back to the company rather than to skive off work.

From Slate • Jan. 30, 2018

It’s dishonest to defraud a religious organization by promising to perform charity work and then faking an illness to skive off.

From Slate • Oct. 19, 2016

So imagine how hard it is to skive.

From The Guardian • May 27, 2015

Give more people who can’t skive off work during the week the chance to attend.

From The Guardian • Jul. 7, 2014

If I was Grant Burch or Ross Wilcox or any of the council-house kids from down Wellington End, I'd just skive off and hop over that stile and follow the bridleway to wherever it went.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Related Words

• cut back
• cut down
• decrease
• lower
• mark down
• prune
• reduce
• scrape
• shave
• slash