skew

play

verb \ ˈskyü \

Definition of skew

intransitive verb

1 :to take an oblique course

2 :to look askance

transitive verb

1 :to make, set, or cut on the skew

2 :to distort especially from a true value or symmetrical form

skewed data

See skew defined for English-language learners

See skew defined for kids

Examples of skew in a Sentence

They were accused of skewing the facts to fit their theory.
He accused them of skewing the rules in their favor.

Recent Examples of skew from the Web

Though America’s sports media skews Caucasian, its recent voting patterns tend to reflect tangible results rather than racial bias, particularly recent results.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Results, not race, main factor in Lamar Jackson's diminished buzz | Tim Sullivan," 30 Aug. 2017
German Coalition Fatigue Limits Options for Merkel and Schulz What’s more, Merkel would have the most to lose from a successful AfD push for women voters, since her Christian Democratic Union skewed the most toward female voters in 2013.

— rainer buergin, Bloomberg.com, "Germany's Populist AfD Party Recognizes It Has an Image Problem," 29 Aug. 2017
But on Monday night, Meyers and his NBC stablemate Jimmy Fallon seemed to redefine themselves as something different again: arbiters of a national moral compass that sometimes seems increasingly skewed.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "‘He Is Not a President’," 15 Aug. 2017
Earnings are skewed geographically, too: India’s richest states enjoy four times the income per person of its poorest, Bihar.

— The Economist, "Reconciliation is not impossible, but it will be a long, slow process," 22 July 2017
Sandals For modern styles that are comfortable without skewing into vaguely orthopedic—not an easy feat—pay a visit to Brentwood’s Habit Footwear + Accessories.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "Best of LA: 92 of Our Favorite Things to Eat, Do, and Buy Right Now," 14 July 2017
Others can't get past his race and gender, saying those factors skew his perspective.

— susan swagler, AL.com, "New book discusses Southern food history, plus books by Southern women writers," 7 July 2017
Sinclair is run by a big-dollar GOP donor, and forced its local affiliates to skew their coverage in Trump’s favor throughout the 2016 campaign.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "White House Warns CNN That Critical Coverage Could Cost Time Warner Its Merger," 6 July 2017
But Schuchat cautioned that as fewer people are receiving short-term prescriptions, those who take opioids for years for chronic pain may have skewed the average.

— lenny bernstein, Washington Post, "Opioid prescriptions dropped for the first time in the modern drug crisis," 6 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'skew.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.