Skitter

Quick meaning: Skitter is a verb meaning (intransitive) To move hurriedly or as by bouncing or twitching; to scamper, to scurry; to scuttle.

Meaning

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

More Meanings

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

Example Sentences

A skitter of activity. A skitter of gooseflesh.

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.

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.

Word Forms

• skitters
• skittering
• skittered

Synonyms for skitter

Depending on context, synonyms include scamper, scurry, skip, scuttle, skim.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include scurry, scamper, skim, skip, scuttle, skurry.

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