skin

1 of 3

noun

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
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 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
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

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. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Start the chicken skin side down in a skillet to let the fat render slowly, resulting in crispy skin without the need for extra oil. Samantha MacAvoy, Women's Health, 9 Sep. 2023 For bloodstream infection: fever, chills, low blood pressure, and blistering skin lesions. Dominique Fluker, Essence, 8 Sep. 2023 Compression offers a ton of benefits, but can lose its value (and irritate your skin) when overdone. John Thompson, Men's Health, 8 Sep. 2023 Scoop potato flesh from skins into a food processor; discard skins. Torie Cox, Country Living, 8 Sep. 2023 That album, Equal Strain on All Parts, due Nov. 3, was completed shortly before his death of skin cancer at 76 on Sept. 1. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2023 Onion skins — a technique that allows animators to see several frames at once — can be activated while painting and animating and provides options for customizing frames with different colors, opacity, and more. Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 8 Sep. 2023 The basic difference between the refugees in our story and those who are crossing Ukraine’s borders today is simple: the color of their skin. Leo Barraclough, Variety, 29 Aug. 2023 For the beauty newbies, exfoliation is a skincare technique that involves removing dead cells from the top layer of your skin. Andi Breitowich, Women's Health, 29 Aug. 2023
Verb
The carbon-fiber door skins necessitate actual door handles, not the pop-up flaps on a regular 911. K.c. Colwell, Car and Driver, 31 Aug. 2023 The Super Peptide Booster is a lightweight serum that smooths and firms skin with a cocktail of ingredients that includes firming orchard stem cells and hydrating peony root extract. Angela Trakoshis, Allure, 11 July 2023 Meanwhile, touching the plant without any protection can result in redness and sometimes skin irritation. Noor Adatia, Dallas News, 3 June 2023 Bowie knives are multi-purpose knives, and they can be used for everything from a knife fight to skinning a rabbit. Jace Bauserman, Field & Stream, 19 July 2023 Boning Knife Long and thin blade that provides flexibility while working in the kitchen Filet, skinning fish, poultry, etc. Utility Knife Versatile blade that is an all-around agile knife, made for petite foods Prep citrus, chop vegetables, cut sandwiches, etc. Marissa Wu, Southern Living, 26 June 2023 Larger knives, on the other hand, are best for skinning in one long swipe. goodhousekeeping.com, 28 Apr. 2023 Increasingly disconnected from the outside world, the island’s people became more self-reliant to survive: knitting their own clothes, skinning animals for moccasins, hunting and fishing and growing their own food. Sasha Chapman, Discover Magazine, 20 Apr. 2023 Skin Mounting For decades, skin mounting was the most popular method of preserving a catch. Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 10 Apr. 2023
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 My colleague Emily Schultz went a few months after me and had a funky, skin contact wine. Alex Beggs, Bon Appétit, 24 June 2019 The main issue with temperature drops is skin dehydration or lack of water, says ZENii Skincare founder, GP, and cosmetic doctor Johanna Ward. refinery29.com, 21 Mar. 2018 The all-in-one formula gently removes makeup, cleanses face, and leaves skin feeling soft—with no need to even rinse. Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 11 July 2017 Using spatula and a pair of tongs, carefully turn each fillet so skin side is up. Claire Saffitz, Bon Appetit, 30 Oct. 2017 Sun Protection F.A.B.'s Skin Tint offers SPF 30, and Glossier's Perfecting Skin Tint has none. Sable Yong, Allure, 18 July 2017 Skin imperfections are revealed to have names—papules, pustules, milia, cysts—and to respond to certain treatments. Jamie Lauren Keiles, The New Yorker, 6 June 2017 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'skin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of skin was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near skin

Cite this Entry

“Skin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skin. Accessed 23 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

skin

1 of 2 noun
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
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 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
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
: 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

More from Merriam-Webster on skin

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