skitter

as in to scurry
to move quickly and lightly along a surface Dry leaves skittered over the sidewalk. Mice skittered across the floor.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of skitter While massive dinosaurs stomped around during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, these little creatures were skittering around under their feet. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 July 2025 However, a player from each team had faced off, the linesman dropped the puck, it then got deflected by Abbotsford and skittered back into the goal. Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 14 June 2025 In an early scene, he is set upon by a shrieking, skittering swarm of creepers—imagine giant, whitish pill bugs with huge mandibles—and expects to be devoured (and resurrected) within seconds. Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025 There’s nothing animatronic about the crabs skittering in the turquoise surf on the southeastern tip of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Mark Gauert, Sun Sentinel, 20 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for skitter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skitter
Verb
  • There were quick glimpses of a Monty Mole burrowing underground, Cheep Cheeps swimming in a stream and Toads scurrying around the castle.
    Jordan Moreau, Variety, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The older dog is shown marching along, while the puppy scurries along, attempting to match its pace.
    Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The journalist’s eyes dart from side to side.
    Sara Stridsberg September 15, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025
  • In a surveillance video released by authorities, Robinson allegedly darts across the roof after firing the single shot, jimmies down to a ledge and jumps to the grass below.
    Rick Jervis, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Women in brightly colored dresses danced in shoes that loudly clicked across the floor.
    Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Sep. 2025
  • Auroras — Crown of Light by Kavan Chay Photographer Kavan Chay took this spectacular image of a red, green and yellow aurora dancing through the starry sky above Tumbledown Bay in New Zealand on May 10, 2024 during a category G5 geomagnetic storm.
    Anthony Wood, Space.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Expect flocks of vibrant flamingos and tiny flitting hummingbirds spreading their wings over the turquoise waters and tangles of mangroves that unfold across lagoons that stretch parallel to the sea.
    Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 9 Sep. 2025
  • To a different namesake, all this flitting indecision might seem like disrespect.
    Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Later, Tom pours vodka into a Phillies cup and watches birds flutter by at night while Robbie gets his guns ready and shakes down a trap house.
    Grace Byron, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2025
  • In the Lower West Side of Chicago, music blared and green, white and red flags fluttered down the streets of the predominantly Latino Pilsen neighborhood on Saturday as crowds gathered for the start of Mexican Independence Day celebrations.
    Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Skitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skitter. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.

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