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
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Recent Examples of skitter
The tiny, fluffy dogs who pee on the rugs and skitter around anxiously.
—
Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2025
And the indium atoms that do get in tend to skitter around on the surface, finally clumping together in a way that hampers light emission.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 Feb. 2010
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
See All Example Sentences for skitter
Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2025
And the indium atoms that do get in tend to skitter around on the surface, finally clumping together in a way that hampers light emission.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 Feb. 2010
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
See All Example Sentences for skitter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skitter
Verb
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Squirrels had always scurried through trees, where birds sang.—
Clint Smith,
The Atlantic,
8 Aug. 2025
-
As fat raindrops sent onlookers scurrying for cover, the two course partners finished with respective 66 and 67 scores on the day and knotted at six-under atop the early leaderboard.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
27 June 2025
Verb
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Joao Pedro took 12 touches in the first half of the Milan game, mainly concerned with occupying defenders, making darting runs and being alert when the ball came his way.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
11 Aug. 2025
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The cat spooks, darting under a pile of debris that was once a house.—
Kat Lonsdorf,
NPR,
12 July 2025
Verb
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Mary Shelley’s creature didn’t dance in tux and tails.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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The stunning display is caused by solar particles interacting with Earth’s magnetic field, and tonight's conditions are just right for the colors to be seen dancing across the sky — weather permitting.—
Valerie Mesa,
People.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The first segment, under the Las Vegas Convention Center, was completed in 2021, but instead of city denizens flitting across the city, convention-goers are simply driven by humans in normal Teslas through a fairly standard road tunnel.—
Hadas Gold,
CNN Money,
29 July 2025
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Bieber’s catalogue is searching and uneven, flitting between glossy renditions of trap-pop, mid-tempo R. & B., eighties new wave, campfire Christian sing-alongs, Afrobeat, and dancehall, his slick, supple voice skimming the surface of these styles while never committing to any of them.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
16 July 2025
Verb
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Stock image: Three U.S. flags flutter on a white fence in a California neighborhood.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Aug. 2025
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The force of McBride’s arrival rattled the uprights, sending the orange flags at their tops fluttering.—
Jourdan Rodrigue,
New York Times,
31 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Skitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skitter. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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