skid row

noun

plural skid rows
: a disadvantaged area of a city or town regarded as a place where unhoused people or people with substance abuse issues often go

Examples of skid row in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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More of these stations are expected to open in skid row. City News Service, Daily News, 16 Mar. 2026 The 1893 silver crash and the following regional depression left the area in decline, turning it into skid row with brothels, speakeasies, pawn shops and widespread crime. Jessica Alvarado Gamez, Denver Post, 1 Mar. 2026 Even as cheap shots of downtown LA’s skid row try to jam in social context uneasily. Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2026 Our city streets shouldn’t be skid row or death row. John Franklin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for skid row

Word History

Etymology

alteration of skid road

First Known Use

circa 1931, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of skid row was circa 1931

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Cite this Entry

“Skid row.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skid%20row. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.

Kids Definition

skid row

noun
: a district of cheap saloons and cheap rooming houses in which vagrants and alcoholics live

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