skirt
Americannoun
-
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.
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
-
a cut of beef from the flank
-
(often plural) a margin or outlying area
-
the lower part of a sheep's fleece
-
slang a girl or woman
verb
-
(tr) to form the edge of
-
(tr) to provide with a border
-
to pass (by) or be situated (near) the outer edge of (an area, etc)
-
(tr) to avoid (a difficulty, etc)
he skirted the issue
-
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She wore a tartan outfit with powerful shoulder pads and a full skirt.
From BBC
Have you seen the price of a skirt steak, or even ground beef these days?
From Barron's
In the darkness of her parlor, Sarah Taylor felt a tug at her skirt, a toddler’s body pressed against her knees.
From Literature
![]()
Scraps of animal-patterned fabric were incorporated into a black silk dress, while bulky sweaters were tucked into sheer skirts.
From Barron's
He complimented her on her blue pleated skirt and white blouse.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.