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Meaning & use

skiving off

phrase·AdvancedBritishinformal

Last updated

UK/ˈskaɪvɪŋ ˈɒf/
US/ˈskaɪvɪŋ ˈɔːf/

“skiving off” is a form of “skive off”.

Meanings

  1. phrasephrasal verbBritishinformaldisapproving

    Staying away from school or work, or leaving early, when you should be there, usually without permission.

    Grammar: No object: he is skiving off, often followed by from: skiving off from work.

    Patterns

    • skive off from something
    • skive off work

    Dan was caught skiving off in the afternoon to watch the football.

    The teacher warned them against skiving off lessons.

    She admitted skiving off work to take a long weekend.

  2. phrasephrasal verbBritishinformal

    Avoiding a duty or task by dodging it or doing as little as possible.

    Grammar: No object, often with a task as the topic: skiving off the washing-up.

    Patterns

    • skive off doing something

    He is always skiving off when there is cleaning to be done.

    Stop skiving off and help us carry these boxes.

    The new intern was skiving off in the supply room instead of helping.

Word forms

baseskive off
third person singularskives off
past tenseskived off
-ing formskiving off

Common combinations

skiving off work
Half the office was skiving off work on the day of the match.
skiving off school
He got into trouble for skiving off school to go fishing.
caught skiving off
The new hire was caught skiving off during the busy shift.
skiving off early
They were skiving off early on a Friday.
constantly skiving off
She was constantly skiving off meetings.

Synonyms and how they differ

bunking off
It is almost the same in British English, though it more often refers to skipping school.
playing hooky
It is the American equivalent and is used mostly about students.
slacking off
It suggests working lazily while present, not necessarily being absent.
dodging
It is a broader word for avoiding anything, not specifically work or school.

Opposites

attendingworking hard

Word family

skive verb
to avoid work or school
skiver noun
someone who regularly avoids work
skive noun
an act of avoiding duty
skived verb
past tense of skive

Commonly confused: skiving off or skiing off?

skiving off vs skiing off

Skiing off means going away on skis, with no link to avoiding work. Skiving has a v.

Practice

The foreman noticed two workers ____ every afternoon instead of finishing their jobs.

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