skin

1 of 3

noun

ˈskin 

often attributive

1

a(1)

: the integument of an animal (such as a fur-bearing mammal or a bird) separated from the body usually with its hair or feathers

(2)

: a usually unmounted specimen of a vertebrate (as in a museum)

b

: the hide or pelt of a game or domestic animal

c(1)

: the pelt of an animal prepared for use as a trimming or in a garment compare hide entry 2

(2)

: a sheet of parchment or vellum made from a hide

(3)

: bottle sense 1b

2

a

: the external limiting tissue layer of an animal body

especially : the 2-layered covering of a vertebrate body consisting of an outer epidermis and an inner dermis

b

: an outer covering (such as a rind or husk) of a fruit or seed

c

: a membranous film or scum (as on boiling milk or drying paint)

3

: the life or physical well-being of a person

saved his own skin

4

: a sheathing or casing forming the outside surface of a structure (such as a ship or airplane)

skinless

ˈskin-ləs 

adjective

skin

2 of 3

verb

skinned; skinning

transitive verb

1

a

: to strip, scrape, or rub off an outer covering (such as the skin or rind) of

b

: to strip or peel off

c

: to cut, chip, or damage the surface of

fell and skinned my knee

2

a

: to cover with or as if with skin

b

: to heal over with skin

3

a

: to strip of money or property : fleece

b

: to defeat badly

c

: censure, castigate

4

: to urge on and direct the course of (a draft animal)

intransitive verb

1

: to become covered with or as if with skin

2

a

: shinny

b

: to pass or get by with scant room to spare

skin

3 of 3

adjective

: devoted to showing nudes

skin magazines

Phrases

by the skin of one's teeth

: by a very narrow margin

under one's skin

: so deeply penetrative as to irritate, stimulate, provoke thought, or otherwise excite

under the skin

: beneath apparent or surface differences : at heart

Synonyms

Noun

• exterior
• face
• outside
• shell
• surface
• veneer

Verb

• bark
• flay
• hull
• husk
• peel
• shell
• shuck

Examples of skin in a Sentence

Noun

the rough skin of a shark

Choose makeup that matches your skin tone.

These snakes shed their skins once a year.

Native Americans had many uses for animal skins.

His boots are made of alligator skin.

Potato skin is very nutritious.

Verb

The hunter skinned the rabbit and prepared it for cooking.

I skinned my knee when I fell.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

On top of that, when your roots and pillow are damp, that creates a moist, warm breeding ground ideal for Malassezia yeast, which in excess, can cause dandruff, per Dr. Cheng, or an inflammatory skin condition called seborrheic dermatitis (characterized by itchy, greasy patches). —Jenna Ryu, SELF, 8 Apr. 2025

Velellas aren’t a serious threat to humans, but last year Carolyn Belak, an aquatic ecologist at the environmental consulting firm H. T. Harvey & Associates, advised people not to touch them, since their small stingers could still irritate the skin, per SFGATE’s Ashley Harrell. —Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Apr. 2025

Verb

There are many ways to skin this particular cat, mind you. —Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2025

But in our solar system, there’s more than one way to skin a planet. —Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 12 Mar. 2025

Adjective

Most of the sub-skin hardware comes from Fiat and English Ford parts bins. —Arthur St. Antoine, Car and Driver, 25 Nov. 2020

Then there are the shocking statistics around breast cancer, which affects one in every eight women and is the most common non-skin cancer affecting women. —Maria Aspan, Fortune, 30 June 2020

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old Norse skinn; akin to Old English scinn skin, Middle High German schint fruit peel

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Adjective

1933, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing skin

• almost jump out of one's skin
• galvanic skin response
• get under someone's skin
• grow a thicker skin
• jump out of one's skin
• make someone's skin crawl/creep
• make someone's skin/flesh crawl
• make someone's skin/flesh creep
• no skin off someone's nose
• nothing but skin and bones
• save someone's bacon/hide/neck/skin
• skin and bone
• skin and bones
• skin-deep
• skin-dive
• skin diver
• skin diving
• skin flick
• skin game
• skin graft
• skin-pop
• skin search
• skin (someone) alive
• skin tag
• skin test
• slip on a banana skin/peel
• soaked to the skin
• thick skin
• thin skin

Rhymes for skin

• been
• bin
• chin
• din
• djinn
• fin
• finn
• gin
• grin
• in
• kin
• linn

Video

When Body Parts Are Also Verbs

Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes

Kids Definition

skin

1 of 2 noun

ˈskin 

1

a

: the outer layer of an animal when separated from the body usually with its hair or feathers : hide, pelt

b

: a sheet of parchment or fine-grained leather made from a hide

c

: bottle entry 1 sense 1b

2

a

: the usually tough and flexible outer layer of an animal body that in vertebrates is made up of two layers including an inner dermis and an outer epidermis

b

: an outer covering or surface layer

a sausage skin

apple skins

3

: the life or physical well-being of a person

made sure to save his skin

skinless

-ləs 

adjective

skinned

ˈskind

adjective

skin

2 of 2 verb

skinned; skinning

1

: to strip, scrape, or rub off the skin of

skin an animal

skinned my knee

2

: to cover or become covered with or as if with skin

3

: cheat entry 1 sense 1, fleece

4

a

: to climb up or down

skin up and down a rope

b

: to pass or get by with little room to spare

Medical Definition

skin

1 of 2 noun

ˈskin 

: the 2-layered covering of the body consisting of an outer ectodermal epidermis that is more or less cornified and penetrated by the openings of sweat and sebaceous glands and an inner mesodermal dermis that is composed largely of connective tissue and is richly supplied with blood vessels and nerves

skin

2 of 2 transitive verb

skinned; skinning

: to cut or scrape the skin of

fell and skinned his knee