skitter

verb

skit·​ter ˈski-tər How to pronounce skitter (audio)
skittered; skittering; skitters

intransitive verb

1
a
: to glide or skip lightly or quickly
b
: to move in or as in a jittery or jerky way
leaves skittering over the sidewalk
2
: to twitch the hook of a fishing line through or along the surface of water

transitive verb

: to cause to skitter

Examples of skitter in a Sentence

Dry leaves skittered over the sidewalk. Mice skittered across the floor.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The aforementioned eyeball alien buries itself deep into its prey before popping out and skittering along the floor like the world’s loudest spider. Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2025 Bats were flipped, benches cleared, Toronto’s manager was ejected and throws skittered around PNC Park. Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025 Rumors of a Satanic curse on the event skittered around the Haight, so early on the morning of the 14th, Ginsberg, Snyder, and Alan Watts conducted a pradakshina, a Buddhist purification rite. Dennis McNally, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025 The Roadrunner is built to be launched out of its own packing crate; before the test flight, the engineers placed one of those crates in the scrub, as tumbleweeds skittered by. Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for skitter

Word History

Etymology

probably frequentative of English dialect (Scots and northern) skite to move quickly, probably from Old Norse skyt-, stem of skjōta to shoot

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of skitter was in 1845

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Skitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skitter. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

skitter

verb
skit·​ter ˈskit-ər How to pronounce skitter (audio)
: to glide or skip lightly or quickly : skim along a surface

More from Merriam-Webster on skitter

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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