skirt
gb/skˈɚt/ us/skˈɚt/
A2
English
~ 6200
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A2
entity
1
garment worn from the waist down
A piece of clothing that hangs from the waist and covers the legs together, often worn by women and girls.
Usage pattern:
to wear [a skirt]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse “skirt” with “shirt”. A skirt is worn on the lower body from the waist down; a shirt is worn on the upper body. Also, learners may say *“a jeans skirt”* instead of the common collocation “a denim skirt”.
Synonyms
kilt (A specific type of skirt traditionally worn by men in Scotland; not a general word for the garment.)
Antonyms
trousers (Covers each leg separately; often thought of as the contrasting style of lower-body clothing.)
Collocations
short skirt
|long skirt
|denim skirt
|pleated skirt
|pencil skirt
|wear a skirt
Themes
clothing
|daily life
|daily_life
Examples
- She wore a black skirt and a white blouse to the interview.
- It’s too cold today to go out in a short skirt.
- The school requires students to wear a navy skirt as part of the uniform.
- He accidentally spilled coffee on her new silk skirt.
- This top doesn’t really match that patterned skirt.
Learner examples
- She is wearing a red skirt today.
- I bought a long skirt for the party.
- The girl’s skirt is too short for school.
- My sister does not like to wear skirts.
- Can I try this skirt in a different size?
Verb
B2
action
2
avoid dealing with something
To not deal with or talk about something directly, often because it is difficult or uncomfortable.
Usage pattern:
to skirt [an issue/problem/question/rule]
Common mistake:
Learners may think this verb only relates to the piece of clothing. In this sense it is not about clothes but about avoiding something. Another mistake is to say *“skirt from the issue”*; the usual patterns are “skirt the issue” or “skirt around the issue”.
Synonyms
evade (Slightly more formal; focuses more on avoiding duties or questions, sometimes dishonestly.)
Antonyms
confront (Means to face and deal with something directly, the opposite of avoiding it.)
Collocations
skirt the issue
|skirt around the question
|skirt the rules
|skirt responsibility
|skirt the problem
Themes
communication
|work
|relationships
Examples
- When asked about the budget cuts, the spokesperson skirted the issue.
- You’re skirting the question instead of giving a clear answer.
- Some companies try to skirt the rules without technically breaking the law.
- He tends to skirt difficult conversations about money.
- The report carefully skirts any mention of past mistakes.
Learner examples
- The manager skirted the question about pay.
- Don’t skirt the issue; tell me what you think.
- They tried to skirt the rules of the game.
- She skirted the problem and talked about something else.
- Politicians often skirt hard questions on TV.
Verb
B2
action
3
go around the edge of
To move around the outside edge of a place or thing, not through the middle.
Usage pattern:
to skirt [an area/edge/object]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use “skirt” only for the clothing sense and do not realize it can be a verb of movement. They may also say *“skirt around along the lake”*; usually you just say “skirt the lake” or “skirt around the lake”, but not both together.
Synonyms
border (Also means to be along the edge of something; “skirt” often suggests going around in a curved line.)
Antonyms
cross (Means to go through or over something instead of around its edge.)
Collocations
road skirts the coast
|path skirts the lake
|trail skirts the forest
|railway skirts the town
|river skirts the border
Themes
movement
|geography
|space
|travel
|transportation
Examples
- A narrow path skirts the lake and leads to the village.
- The highway skirts the city to avoid the busy center.
- The hiking trail skirts the edge of the cliff.
- The canal skirts the old industrial district.
- The new road will skirt the national park to protect wildlife.
Learner examples
- The road skirts the town and then joins the main highway.
- We took a path that skirts the river.
- A small fence skirts the garden.
- The bike lane skirts the park.
- Our route skirts the mountains, so it is quite safe.
Noun
literary
C1
entity
4
outer edge of a place
The area at the outside edge of a place, for example the edge of a city or forest.
Usage pattern:
the skirts of [a place/area]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse this with the clothing sense and think it is always about clothes. In this sense, “skirts” is almost always plural and followed by “of”, as in “the skirts of the city”. In everyday modern English, “outskirts” is more common for cities.
Synonyms
outskirts (A more common modern word, especially for the outer parts of a town or city.)
Antonyms
center (Refers to the middle of a place, the opposite of the outer edge.)
Collocations
skirts of the city
|skirts of the town
|skirts of the forest
|skirts of the village
|skirts of the mountain
Themes
geography
|places
|space
|travel
Examples
- They live on the skirts of the city, where the houses are cheaper.
- A small farm lies on the skirts of the forest.
- We camped on the skirts of the mountain range.
- New factories are being built on the skirts of the town.
- A ring road runs along the skirts of the capital.
Learner examples
- He has a house on the skirts of the city.
- There is a small shop on the skirts of the village.
- We walked on the skirts of the forest at sunset.
- They built a new school on the skirts of town.
- Many people live on the skirts of big cities.
Noun
B2
entity
5
lower part of a dress
The lower part of a dress or coat that falls from the waist.
Usage pattern:
the skirt of [a dress/coat]
Common mistake:
Learners may not notice that “skirt” can refer to part of a dress or coat, not only a separate garment. Context such as “the skirt of her dress” signals this sense.
Synonyms
hem (Refers to the sewn edge at the bottom, not the whole lower part, so it is more specific.)
Antonyms
bodice (Refers to the upper part of a woman’s dress, contrasting with the lower part or skirt.)
Collocations
the skirt of her dress
|full skirt
|flowing skirt
|the skirt of his coat
|tight skirt of the gown
Themes
clothing
|daily life
Examples
- The wind blew the skirt of her dress around her legs.
- Mud splashed up on the skirt of his long coat.
- The skirt of the gown was made of several layers of tulle.
- She caught her heel in the skirt of her dress as she climbed the stairs.
- The tailor shortened the skirt of the coat by a few centimeters.
Learner examples
- The skirt of her dress is very wide.
- He stepped on the skirt of her long dress.
- Rain made the skirt of my coat wet.
- She likes dresses with a full skirt.
- The cat is hiding under the skirt of the tablecloth-like dress.
Noun
B2
entity
6
fabric around base of object
Cloth that hangs down from something like a bed or table to cover its lower part.
Usage pattern:
a [bed/tree/table] skirt
Common mistake:
Learners may think “bed skirt” is related to clothing. In this sense, it is home decoration: a piece of fabric around the base of an object, not something you wear.
Synonyms
valance (A more specific word often used for fabric hanging from a bed or window; not used for all kinds of skirts.)
Antonyms
bare (Describes something without any covering, the opposite of having a decorative skirt.)
Collocations
bed skirt
|tree skirt
|table skirt
|chair skirt
|decorative skirt
Themes
home
|objects
|daily_life
|housing
Examples
- We bought a new bed skirt to hide the boxes under the bed.
- A red tree skirt covered the stand at the bottom of the Christmas tree.
- The event planner suggested adding a table skirt to improve the look of the display.
- The chair’s skirt was torn and needed to be repaired.
- She lifted the bed skirt to vacuum underneath.
Learner examples
- I need a new bed skirt for my room.
- They put a white tree skirt under the Christmas tree.
- The table has a blue skirt for the party.
- Dust is under the bed skirt.
- We use a long skirt on the table to hide the boxes.
Noun
slang
C1
entity
7
woman, viewed sexually (offensive)
A rude slang word for a woman, usually used by men who see women mainly as sex objects.
Usage pattern:
to chase [skirt]; a bit of skirt
Common mistake:
Learners might think this is a neutral or funny word for “woman” because they see it in older books or movies. In modern English it is usually seen as sexist or disrespectful and should be avoided in normal conversation.
Synonyms
chick (Informal and can be sexist; used for a young woman, but not limited to sexual context like “skirt” often is.)
Antonyms
guy (An informal term for a man; not a perfect opposite in meaning, but the gender counterpart in casual talk.)
Collocations
chase skirts
|a bit of skirt
|plenty of skirt
|look for skirt
|young skirt
Themes
relationships
|sex
|communication
Examples
- He used to spend his weekends chasing skirts in the bars downtown.
- The movie was criticized for treating its female characters as nothing more than pretty skirts.
- Calling women “skirt” sounds old-fashioned and offensive to many people.
- He bragged about all the skirt he could get with his new car.
- Writers today rarely use “skirt” for women except to show a sexist attitude.
Learner examples
- Some men say “skirt” for women, but it is rude.
- He likes to chase skirts, so he is not serious about a relationship.
- Calling a woman “a bit of skirt” is insulting.
- Modern books do not often use “skirt” to mean a woman.
- Do not use the word “skirt” for a woman in real life.
Grammar
Dictionary form
skirt
IPA
GB/skˈɚt/
US/skˈɚt/
Syllables & stress
skirt (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (skirt)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: skirt
- Plural: skirt, skirts
Verb
- Base: skirt
- 3rd Person Singular: skirts
- Present Participle: skirting
- Past: skirted
Word family
Forms
skirts
noun
skirting
verb
skirted
verb
Related words
miniskirt
noun
underskirt
noun
Expressions
chase skirts
1/t͡ʃˈeɪs skˈɚts/
idiom
slang
pursue many women sexually
For a man to look for many women to have sex or romantic fun with, usually not in a serious way.
Examples
- In his twenties he did little but drink and chase skirts.
- She’s not interested in a guy who spends all his time chasing skirts.
- The character is portrayed as a lazy worker who just chases skirts after hours.
on the skirts of
1/ˈɔn ðə skˈɚts əv/
fixed phrase
literary
located at outer edge of place
Located at the outside edge of a place, such as a town or forest.
Examples
- They bought a small cottage on the skirts of the village.
- A campsite on the skirts of the forest was our base for hikes.
- Several new factories have appeared on the skirts of the city.
skirt around
1/skˈɚt ɚˈaʊnd/
phrasal verb
avoid something in an indirect way
To avoid dealing with or talking about something in a direct way.
Examples
- They skirted around the topic of layoffs during the meeting.
- He kept skirting around my question about the accident.
- The article skirts around the reasons for the delay.
skirt the issue
1/skˈɚt ðə ˈɪʃu/
idiom
avoid talking about a problem
To avoid talking about a problem or question directly, usually because it is difficult or uncomfortable.
Examples
- The report skirts the issue by focusing only on short-term results.
- Stop skirting the issue and tell me what really happened.
- Politicians often skirt the issue when asked about taxes.
skirt the rules
1/skˈɚt ðə ɹˈulz/
idiom
avoid rules without breaking them
To avoid following rules in a clear way, while trying not to break them openly.
Examples
- Some companies skirt the rules by using legal loopholes.
- He’s known for skirting the rules to get what he wants.
- They found a way to skirt the rules about campaign funding.