Meaning & use
skivvies
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Meanings
nounpluralinformalAmericanhumorous
Underwear, especially the simple kind worn next to the skin, mentioned in a joking or casual way.
Grammar: Always plural: his skivvies are on the chair.
Patterns
- in your skivvies
- strip down to your skivvies
He ran out of the house in his skivvies to grab the newspaper.
The campers stripped down to their skivvies and jumped in the lake.
Pack enough clean skivvies for the weekend trip.
nounusually pluralmilitaryAmerican
A thin short-sleeved shirt worn under a uniform, especially in the US Navy.
Grammar: Used mainly in a naval setting, often plural.
Patterns
- wear skivvies under something
Sailors received two pairs of skivvies with their uniforms.
He wore a white skivvy shirt under his jacket.
The sergeant checked that every recruit had clean skivvies.
Word forms
| singular | skivvy |
|---|
Common combinations
- in your skivvies
- She was caught in her skivvies when the doorbell rang.
- down to your skivvies
- They stripped down to their skivvies.
- clean skivvies
- Always pack clean skivvies for a trip.
- skivvies on the line
- He hung his skivvies on the line.
Synonyms and how they differ
- underwear
- Underwear is neutral and polite, while skivvies is a playful word.
- undies
- Undies is also casual but more childlike and gentle.
- underclothes
- Underclothes is old-fashioned and more formal.
- briefs
- Briefs names one style of underwear, whereas skivvies is a general joking word.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: skivvies or skivvy?
skivvies vs skivvy
In British English, a skivvy is a servant who does hard dull work, which is a different sense from American skivvies.
Practice
Which sentence uses skivvies correctly?
Choose one answer.
Skivvies means underwear, so hanging them out to dry is natural. The other sentences use it in meanings it does not have.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “skivvies”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.