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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Recent Examples of skitter
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
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
For a new study in the Journal of Experimental Biology, Weiss and her co-authors recorded skittering cricket frogs from above and below the surface at 500 frames per second and then played the videos back much more slowly.
—Rohini Subrahmanyam, Scientific American, 30 Jan. 2025
Inch-long cricket frogs also seem to skitter over the surface of water with physics-defying grace.
—Rohini Subrahmanyam, Scientific American, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skitter
Mark Gauert, Sun Sentinel, 20 Jan. 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
For a new study in the Journal of Experimental Biology, Weiss and her co-authors recorded skittering cricket frogs from above and below the surface at 500 frames per second and then played the videos back much more slowly.
—Rohini Subrahmanyam, Scientific American, 30 Jan. 2025
Inch-long cricket frogs also seem to skitter over the surface of water with physics-defying grace.
—Rohini Subrahmanyam, Scientific American, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skitter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skitter
Verb
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The rats all scurry out of an ominous rustling bush, making their own little Fast and the Furriest sequel.—
Jocelyn Silver,
Vogue,
6 June 2025
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Several of the party’s candidates scurried around the Anaheim convention center, trying to curry favor with the state’s most liberal activists while also drawing contrasts with their rivals.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
Verb
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In-ho, clearly taking no pleasure in the sight in the wake of recent events, darted his eyes downward and rolled back up his window, before his driver moved on….—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
27 June 2025
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His eyes dart over to a curtained section of the wall.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
26 June 2025
Verb
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Even the most obsessive dancing queen will find fresh storytelling and breadth in these pages.—
EW Staff Published,
EW.com,
20 June 2025
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Lorde accompanied the former with a video of herself alone throughout New York before meeting up with fans and dancing in the center of Washington Square Park.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
20 June 2025
Verb
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Following the Tony Awards, many attendees flitted off to cast celebrations and the official MoMA party before landing at the annual event at the Carlyle, hosted by Rick Miramontez and John Gore.—
Emily Burns,
Footwear News,
9 June 2025
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The episode flits back and forth between tour preparation, performances and home footage from Cooper’s childhood.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
8 June 2025
Verb
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The card features drawings of flying birds, floating feathers, shooting stars, fluttering butterflies and rowing gondoliers.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
People.com,
24 June 2025
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Outside of quintessential Southern porch staples, nature adds an idyllic experience to the outdoors, especially the presence of hummingbirds with their gracefully fluttering wings and gentle humming sound.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Skitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skitter. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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