SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

the skinny

Definition of the skinny

US, informal

: the true information about someone or something that is not known by most people What's the skinny on their supposed breakup? Give me the inside/straight/real skinny.

Word by Word Definitions

skinnyplay

: resembling skin : membranous
: lacking sufficient flesh : very thin : emaciated
: lacking usual or desirable bulk, quantity, qualities, or significance

: inside information : dope

See the full definition of skinny

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up the skinny? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

alleviate

play

to relieve or lessen

Words at Play

watercolor-squares

We're Down With You Being—or Your Being?—a Square

It's about (you? your?) having your say.

Devilish Words

Don't blame a word use error on the devil.

alt-599492594f435

How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder

A case of semantic bleaching

dog-covering-face

Don't Let Reading This Be Another 'Coulda' 'Shoulda' 'Woulda'

PSA: They're three separate words.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066

Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless

Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals

Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz

Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz

True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz

Add Diction

Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.

Play the game