Meaning & use
skirt
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Meanings
nouncountable
A piece of clothing for women or girls that hangs from the waist and covers part or all of the legs.
Grammar: Countable: a skirt, two skirts. Often used in compounds like 'mini-skirt' or 'pencil skirt'.
Patterns
- wear a skirt
- a long/short skirt
She wore a blue skirt and a white blouse to the interview.
The skirt has a small tear near the hem.
In summer, many women prefer light cotton skirts.
verbtransitive
To go around the edge of something rather than through or over it.
Grammar: Takes an object: skirt the city. Often used in the phrase 'skirt around something'.
Patterns
- skirt something
- skirt around something
The road skirts the edge of the lake for several miles.
We decided to skirt the mountain rather than climb it.
The path skirts around the old castle walls.
verbtransitive
To avoid dealing with a difficult subject or question directly.
Grammar: Takes an object: skirt the issue. Often used in political or formal contexts.
Patterns
- skirt the issue
- skirt the question
- skirt around a topic
The report skirts the real problem of funding.
Politicians often skirt difficult questions during interviews.
He skirted around the topic of his resignation.
Word forms
| plural | skirts |
|---|---|
| third person singular | skirts |
| past tense | skirted |
| past participle | skirted |
| -ing form | skirting |
Common combinations
- skirt the issue
- The manager skirted the issue of pay rises.
- a long skirt
- She bought a long skirt for the wedding.
- wear a skirt
- In many offices, women are not required to wear a skirt.
- skirt around
- The conversation skirted around the real problem.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- skirting noun
- A board along the bottom of a wall; also the act of going around something.
Commonly confused: skirt or shirt?
skirt vs shirt
A shirt is a piece of clothing for the upper body, while a skirt is for the lower body.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'skirt' correctly as a verb meaning 'to avoid a topic'?
Choose one answer.
The verb 'skirt' means to avoid dealing with something directly, so 'skirted the difficult question' fits. The other options use 'skirt' with objects that don't make sense (a dress, a ball, homework) and would require different verbs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “skirt”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.