adj · adv · noun · verb · 25 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/skjuː/
British, Southern, Standard:/skjʉw/
General-American:/skju/
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -uː
homophone: SKU
CMU ARPABET:S K Y UW1
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Neither parallel nor perpendicular to a certain line; askew.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable, usually
Examples
a skew arch
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Of two lines in three-dimensional space: neither intersecting nor parallel.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable, usually
Topics: geometry, mathematics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Of a distribution: asymmetrical about its mean.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: comparable, not-comparable, usually
Topics: mathematics, sciences, statistics
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adv
Meaning 4
Askew, obliquely; awry.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
Something that has an oblique or slanted position.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
An oblique or sideways movement.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
A squint or sidelong glance.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
noun
Meaning 8
A kind of wooden vane or cowl in a chimney which revolves according to the direction of the wind and prevents smoking.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
noun
Meaning 9
A piece of rock lying in a slanting position and tapering upwards which overhangs a working-place in a mine and is liable to fall.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
10
noun
Meaning 10
A bias or distortion in a particular direction.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
11
noun
Meaning 11
A phenomenon in synchronous digital circuit systems (such as computers) in which the same sourced clock signal arrives at different components at different times.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
12
noun
Meaning 12
A state of asymmetry in a distribution; skewness.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: mathematics, sciences, statistics
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
13
noun
Meaning 13
A stone at the foot of the slope of a gable, the offset of a buttress, etc., cut with a sloping surface and with a check to receive the coping stones and retain them in place; a skew-corbel.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: architecture
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
14
noun
Meaning 14
The coping of a gable.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Scotland
Topics: architecture
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
15
noun
Meaning 15
One of the stones placed over the end of a gable, or forming the coping of a gable.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
Topics: architecture
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
16
noun
Meaning 16
A thick drizzling rain or driving mist.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Cornwall
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
17
verb
Meaning 17
To form or shape in an oblique way; to cause to take an oblique position.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: unskew
18
verb
Meaning 18
To form or shape in an oblique way; to cause to take an oblique position.
To cause (a distribution) to be asymmetrical.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Topics: mathematics, sciences, statistics
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: unskew
19
verb
Meaning 19
To bias or distort in a particular direction.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
A disproportionate number of female subjects in the study group skewed the results.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: color
Antonyms: none provided
20
verb
Meaning 20
To hurl or throw.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northumbria, Yorkshire, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
To move obliquely; to move sideways, to sidle; to lie obliquely.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
22
verb
Meaning 22
To jump back or sideways in fear or surprise; to shy, as a horse.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
23
verb
Meaning 23
To look at obliquely; to squint; hence, to look slightingly or suspiciously.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
24
adjective satellite
Meaning 24
having an oblique or slanting direction or position
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the picture was skew
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: skewed
Antonyms: none provided
25
verb
Meaning 25
turn or place at an angle
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the lines on the sheet of paper are skewed
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: align
Broader terms: reorient
History
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English skeuen, skewe, skewen (“to run at an angle or obliquely; to escape”), from Old Northern French escuer [and other forms], variants of Old French eschuer, eschever, eschiver (“to escape, flee; to avoid”) (modern French esquiver (“to dodge (a blow), duck; to elude, evade; to slip away; to sidestep”)), from Frankish *skiuhan (“to dread; to avoid, shun”), from Proto-Germanic *skiuhijaną (“to frighten”). The English word is cognate with Catalan esquiu (“evasive, shy”), Danish skæv (“crooked, slanting; skew, wry”) (> Norwegian Bokmål skjev), Dutch scheef (“crooked, slanting”), Norwegian skeiv (“crooked, lopsided; oblique, slanting; distorted”), Saterland Frisian skeeuw (“aslant, slanting; oblique; awry”), and is a doublet of eschew. The adjective and adverb are probably derived from the verb and/or from askew, and the noun is derived from either the adjective or the verb.
From Middle English skeu, skew (“stone with a sloping surface forming the slope of a gable, offset of a buttress, etc.”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman eschu, escuwe, eskeu, or Old Northern French eschieu, eskieu, eskiu, from Old French escu, escut, eschif (“a shield”) (modern French écu), from Latin scūtum (“a shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *skewH- (“to cover, protect”) or *skey- (“to cut, split”).
Perhaps from a Cornish word, though the closest Cornish word is kuas/cwas, which would require much phonological modification; thus, perhaps instead simply from the skewed angle wind may drive such rain to fall in.
Across languages
Translations
100 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
кос
(kos)
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Czech:
šikmý
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Danish:
skæv
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Dutch:
scheef
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Estonian:
kald
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Faroese:
skeivur
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Finnish:
vino
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
French:
gauche
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
French:
oblique
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
German:
schief
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
German:
schräg
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
German:
windschief
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Hungarian:
ferde
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Hungarian:
döntött
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Hungarian:
rézsútos
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Italian:
obliquo
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Italian:
sghembo
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Italian:
trasversale
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Polish:
skośny
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Portuguese:
assimétrico
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Romanian:
oblic
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Slovak:
kosý
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Slovak:
šikmý
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Spanish:
asimétrico
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Spanish:
oblicuo
— neither parallel nor at right angles to a certain line
Finnish:
vino
— of two lines in three-dimensional space: neither intersecting nor parallel
Romanian:
necoplanare
— of two lines in three-dimensional space: neither intersecting nor parallel
Russian:
скрещивающиеся
(skreščivajuščijesja)
— of two lines in three-dimensional space: neither intersecting nor parallel
Bulgarian:
асиметричен
(asimetričen)
— of a distribution: asymmetrical about its mean
Finnish:
vino
— of a distribution: asymmetrical about its mean
Hungarian:
torz
— of a distribution: asymmetrical about its mean
Persian:
چوله
(čowle)
— of a distribution: asymmetrical about its mean
Hungarian:
ferdeség
— something that has an oblique or slanted position
Hungarian:
rézsútosság
— something that has an oblique or slanted position
Finnish:
vino liike
— oblique or sideways movement
Hungarian:
dőlés
— oblique or sideways movement
Bulgarian:
отклонение
(otklonenie)
— bias or distortion in a particular direction
Finnish:
vinouma
— bias or distortion in a particular direction
Hungarian:
torzítás
— bias or distortion in a particular direction
Finnish:
vääristymä
— phenomenon in synchronous digital circuit systems in which the same sourced clock signal arrives at different components at different times
Finnish:
luiskattu kivi
— stone with a sloping surface at the foot of the slope of a gable, etc.
Bulgarian:
изкривявам
(izkrivjavam)
— to form or shape in an oblique way
Finnish:
tehdä vinoksi
— to form or shape in an oblique way
Finnish:
muotoilla vinoksi
— to form or shape in an oblique way
Finnish:
vinouttaa
— to form or shape in an oblique way
French:
incliner
— to form or shape in an oblique way
German:
verfälschen
— to form or shape in an oblique way
Hungarian:
ferdít
— to form or shape in an oblique way
Hungarian:
elferdít
— to form or shape in an oblique way
Hungarian:
dönt
— to form or shape in an oblique way
Hungarian:
megdönt
— to form or shape in an oblique way
Hungarian:
ferdén helyez el
— to form or shape in an oblique way
Serbo-Croatian:
nakositi
— to form or shape in an oblique way
Finnish:
vinouttaa
— to cause (a distribution) to be asymmetrical
Hungarian:
torzít
— to cause (a distribution) to be asymmetrical
Hungarian:
eltorzít
— to cause (a distribution) to be asymmetrical
Bulgarian:
отклонявам
(otklonjavam)
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Czech:
zkreslit
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Dutch:
afleiden
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Estonian:
kallutama
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Finnish:
vinouttaa
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Finnish:
kallistaa
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Finnish:
vääristää
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
French:
biaiser
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
German:
ablenken
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Hungarian:
torzít
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Hungarian:
eltorzít
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Hungarian:
elferdít
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Hungarian:
manipulál
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Italian:
distorcere
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Portuguese:
distorcer
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Portuguese:
enviesar
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Russian:
отклоня́ться
(otklonjátʹsja)
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Serbo-Croatian:
nakositi
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Serbo-Croatian:
nagnuti
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Serbo-Croatian:
otkloniti
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Slovak:
odchýliť
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Slovak:
odkloniť
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Slovak:
prikloniť
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Slovak:
skresliť
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Swedish:
förvränga
— to bias or distort in a particular direction
Finnish:
liikkua vinossa
— to move obliquely
Finnish:
liikkua vinosti
— to move obliquely
Hungarian:
ferdül
— to move obliquely
Hungarian:
elferdül
— to move obliquely
Hungarian:
dől
— to move obliquely
Hungarian:
megdől
— to move obliquely
Serbo-Croatian:
ići koso
— to move obliquely
Bulgarian:
отдръпвам се
(otdrǎpvam se)
— to jump back or sideways in fear or surprise
Finnish:
säpsähtää
— to jump back or sideways in fear or surprise
Finnish:
hypähtää
— to jump back or sideways in fear or surprise
French:
sursauter
— to jump back or sideways in fear or surprise
Serbo-Croatian:
odskočiti
— to jump back or sideways in fear or surprise
Bulgarian:
гледам накриво
(gledam nakrivo)
— to look at obliquely
Finnish:
katsoa kieroon
— to look at obliquely
French:
loucher
— to look at obliquely
Hungarian:
ferdén
— to look at obliquely
Hungarian:
sandán
— to look at obliquely
Hungarian:
görbe szemmel néz
— to look at obliquely
Serbo-Croatian:
gledati iskosa
— to look at obliquely