Skitter

/ˈskɪtə(ɹ)/ · verb

Meaning

(intransitive) To move hurriedly or as by bouncing or twitching; to scamper, to scurry; to scuttle..

Definitions by Sense

1. (intransitive) To move hurriedly or as by bouncing or twitching; to scamper, to scurry; to scuttle.
2. (intransitive) To make a scratching or scuttling noise while, or as if, skittering.
3. (transitive) To move or pass (something) over a surface quickly so that it touches only at intervals; to skip, to skite.
4. (also figuratively) A skittering movement.
5. (transitive, Northern England, Scotland) To cause to have diarrhea.
6. (intransitive, Northern England, Scotland) To suffer from a bout of diarrhea; to produce thin excrement.
7. (Scotland, Northern England, uncountable) Often skitters: the condition of suffering from diarrhea; thin excrement.

Example Sentences

I opened the cabinet and a number of cockroaches went skittering off into the darkness.

Some kinds of ducks in lighting strike the water with their tails first, and skitter along the surface for a few feet before settling down.

Both "Dark Snow" and "Aurelia" [by AFI] feature subtle washes of brittle piano à la Decemberunderground, while "She Speaks The Language" boasts a skittering electronic underbelly, and eerie synths are suspended like low clouds in "Above The Bridge."

"Skittering," continued the Professor, "is practiced with a strong line about the length of the rod, to which is affixed a small trolling-spoon, a minnow, or a piece of pork-rind cut in the rude semblance of a small fish. The boat is poled along, as in ‘bobbing,’ but farther out in the stream, when the angler, standing in the bow, ‘skitters’ or skips the spoon or bait over the surface just at the edge of the weeds.

A skitter of activity. A skitter of gooseflesh.

I had seen an aerial helix of raptors, hawks and harriers riding a thermal, and below them a skitter of ringed plover and other waders, together with more kingfishers than I had ever seen before.

Each day that I went, he stood off by himself, in solitude, came politely to the tee on his own, whacked to the right and left in a skitter of balls, his hair pinched in a clubhouse golf cap that didn't fit, his mouth in grim determination to not make an utter fool of himself, his golf clubs' vinyl bag with the ticket attached to signal his beginner's fees were paid.

With a skitter of excitement, Marcy glanced at the clock on the parlor mantel. It chimed ten, and her gaze flicked to the face of her husband as he lounged in his favorite chair with a newspaper in his lap.

Synonyms for skitter

Antonyms for skitter

Related Words

Word Forms

• skitters
• skittering
• skittered

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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