skinny

1 of 2

adjective

skin·​ny ˈski-nē 

skinnier; skinniest

1

: resembling skin : membranous

2

a

: lacking sufficient flesh : very thin : emaciated

b

: lacking usual or desirable bulk, quantity, qualities, or significance

3

of clothes : fitting very close to the body : very tight

skinny jeans

4

: made with skim milk

a skinny latte

skinniness noun

skinny

2 of 2

noun

slang

: inside information : dope

… the straight skinny on what's going on.

—John Geary

Synonyms of skinny

Adjective

• thin
• slender
• narrow

Noun

• scoop
• tip
• rumor
• dope

Choose the Right Synonym for skinny

lean, spare, lank, lanky, gaunt, rawboned, scrawny, skinny mean thin because of an absence of excess flesh.

lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours.

a lean racehorse

spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise.

the gymnast's spare figure

lank implies tallness as well as leanness.

the lank legs of the heron

lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness.

a lanky youth, all arms and legs

gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering.

a prisoner's gaunt face

rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment.

a rawboned farmer

scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality.

a scrawny chicken

skinny street urchins

Examples of skinny in a Sentence

Adjective

the tree swing was supported only by a couple of skinny branches

her grandmother was always insisting that she was too skinny and never tired of trying to force more food on her

Noun

a TV show that offers all the skinny on Tinseltown and the stars that light it up

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Core fits across skinny, slim, bootcut and straight continue to make up most of the Levi’s bottoms business, which grew 6 percent in Q2. — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 10 July 2026

Block heels styles offer more support, jelly sandals add a pop of color, and skinny kitten heeled thongs are perfect for minimalists. — Kaitlin Clapinski, InStyle, 8 July 2026

Noun

After all, the slim cut hits the sweet spot between skinnies and straight-legs, falling straight from the knee to the ankle, much like, well, a cigarette. — Kelsey Stewart, Glamour, 20 May 2026

Kicking off a royal visit to Scotland (and on the same day as her wedding anniversary), Middleton wore a double-breasted blazer by Holland Cooper in gorgeous brown herringbone as well as a blue button-down from Boden and black skinnies. — Instyle Editors, InStyle, 6 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

perhaps from skin entry 1 + -y entry 4

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1541, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1938, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing skinny

• skinny-dip
• the inside/straight/real skinny
• the skinny
• What's the skinny on

Rhymes for skinny

• finny
• ginny
• jinny
• mini
• minnie
• ninny
• pinnae
• spinney
• spline
• swinney
• tinny
• whinny

Kids Definition

skinny

adjective

skin·​ny

ˈskin-ē

skinnier; skinniest

1

: resembling skin : membranous

a skinny layer

2

: very thin

skinniness noun