noun
Meaning 1
A skittering movement.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: also, figuratively
Examples
- A skitter of activity. A skitter of gooseflesh.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
skitter
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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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UK: /ˈskɪtə(ɹ)/
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General-American: /ˈskɪtɚ/
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General-American: [ˈskɪɾɚ]
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General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɪtə(ɹ)
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homophone: skidder (in some dialects)
noun
Meaning 2
Often skitters: the condition of suffering from diarrhea; thin excrement.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 3
To move hurriedly or as by bouncing or twitching; to scamper, to scurry; to scuttle.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
Examples
- I opened the cabinet and a number of cockroaches went skittering off into the darkness.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
To make a scratching or scuttling noise while, or as if, skittering.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To move or pass (something) over a surface quickly so that it touches only at intervals; to skip, to skite.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
To cause to have diarrhea.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 7
To suffer from a bout of diarrhea; to produce thin excrement.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 8
twitch the hook of a fishing line through or along the surface of water
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: twitch
verb
Meaning 9
cause to skip over a surface
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- Skip a stone across the pond
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: skim, skip
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: throw
verb
Meaning 10
glide easily along a surface
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: glide
verb
Meaning 11
to move about or proceed hurriedly
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- so terrified by the extraordinary ebbing of the sea that they scurried to higher ground
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: scurry, scamper, scuttle
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: run
Narrower terms: crab
History
Etymology
Possibly a frequentative of skite (“to move lightly and hurriedly; to move suddenly, particularly in an oblique direction”) (Scotland, Northern England). The noun is derived from the verb.
From skite (“to defecate”) + -er (frequentative suffix). The noun is derived from the verb.
Across languages
Translations
11 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Czech: pobíhat — to move hurriedly
- Finnish: kipittää — to move hurriedly
- Finnish: viilettää — to move hurriedly
- French: s'enfuir — to move hurriedly
- German: huschen — to move hurriedly
- German: eilen — to move hurriedly
- German: dahinjagen — to move hurriedly
- Russian: мчаться (mčatʹsja) — to move hurriedly
- Spanish: apresurar — to move hurriedly
- Finnish: kipittää — to make a scratching or scuttling noise
- German: kratzen — to make a scratching or scuttling noise