skin suit

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablesport

   A very tight one-piece garment that fits the body like a second skin, used for sport, such as swimming, cycling or speed skating.

   Grammar: Countable: a skin suit, two skin suits.

   Patterns

   • wear a skin suit

   The cyclist zipped up her skin suit before the time trial.

   Speed skaters race in a skin suit to cut air resistance.

   He felt self-conscious in a bright skin suit.

2. 2nouncountablefigurative

   In fiction, a human body or its skin worn as a disguise or costume by another creature.

   Grammar: Countable and usually in horror or science fiction.

   Patterns

   • wear a skin suit

   In the film, the alien hides inside a skin suit.

   The villain wore a skin suit to pass as human.

   Fans debated why the monster needed a skin suit.

Word forms

Common combinations

wear a skin suit

Racers wear a skin suit in time trials.

aero skin suit

An aero skin suit helps cut seconds.

skin suit race

The skin suit race took place at dawn.

inside a skin suit

The creature hid inside a skin suit.

Synonyms and how they differ

bodysuit

A bodysuit is any close-fitting one-piece garment, including fashion wear, not necessarily for racing.

unitard

A unitard covers the legs too and is used by dancers and gymnasts, unlike many skin suits.

catsuit

A catsuit is a fashion or costume piece, while a skin suit is performance gear.

Word family

skin noun

the outer covering of the body

suit noun

a set of clothes

skintight adjective

fitting very closely

Commonly confused: skin suit or wetsuit?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “skin suit”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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