Skive

Quick meaning: Skive is a verb meaning (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) To avoid one's lessons or work (chiefly at school or university); shirk.

Meaning

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) To avoid one's lessons or work (chiefly at school or university); shirk.

More Meanings

1. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) Something very easy, where one can slack off without penalty.
2. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) An act of avoiding lessons or work.
3. A rotating iron disk coated with oil and diamond dust used to polish the facets of a diamond.
4. An angled cut or bevel at the edge of something.
5. To pare or shave off the rough or thick parts of.

Example Sentences

Mr Smith's history classes are a total skive.

This accident sometimes occasions a flaw in the diamond, and always damages the skive, by tearing up its surface.

Another school skive! I only realised this when my dentist's receptionist told me to expect a fair wait till I could be seen.

Truancies, rather bewilderingly, have risen among children on the programme; the government hopes this is because children skive more as they get older.

Word Forms

• skives
• skiving
• skived

Synonyms for skive

Depending on context, synonyms include skip.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include shirk, doss, eschew, shuck, skulk, flunk.

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