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
Inch-long cricket frogs also seem to skitter over the surface of water with physics-defying grace.
—
Rohini Subrahmanyam, Scientific American, 30 Jan. 2025
The slow-rolling single with skittering drum machine beats mashed against both mens’ drawling vocals is of a piece with Jelly’s frequent lyrical focus on mental health and his battles with substance use.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 24 Jan. 2025
Several small, unsecured items fell and skittered across the cabin floor.
—Heather Steinberger, Robb Report, 22 Nov. 2024
Arthropleura lived between 290 million and 346 million years ago, skittering around the Earth’s tropical equator alongside other massive arthropods like the two-foot-long scorpion Pulmonoscorpius.
—Olatunji Osho-Williams, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for skitter
Rohini Subrahmanyam, Scientific American, 30 Jan. 2025
The slow-rolling single with skittering drum machine beats mashed against both mens’ drawling vocals is of a piece with Jelly’s frequent lyrical focus on mental health and his battles with substance use.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 24 Jan. 2025
Several small, unsecured items fell and skittered across the cabin floor.
—Heather Steinberger, Robb Report, 22 Nov. 2024
Arthropleura lived between 290 million and 346 million years ago, skittering around the Earth’s tropical equator alongside other massive arthropods like the two-foot-long scorpion Pulmonoscorpius.
—Olatunji Osho-Williams, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for skitter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skitter
Verb
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Large bags of sugar sat unsealed on the tile floor, where cockroaches scurried around day and night.—
Jordan Salama,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
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James scurried after and hugged both his father and grandfathers' legs.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 May 2025
Verb
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McDavid darted around the ice with his usual flair and notched three helpers.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
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Vacationers who were camping nearby tried to capture the dog, but she got spooked and darted off into the wilderness.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
1 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Their best wins in that stretch were beating the 44-win Detroit Pistons on the road and dancing on the desiccated corpse of the Dallas Mavericks in the Play-In Tournament.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
2 May 2025
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McGrath recalled the one time his friend filmed himself dancing at the airport.—
Francesca Street,
CNN Money,
2 May 2025
Verb
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Just don’t get too set on a bedtime—the aurora borealis might surprise you by flitting across the sky on a cloudless night.—
Maggie Fuller,
AFAR Media,
23 Apr. 2025
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Through swaths of bright, blinding sunshine, punctuated by the flitting shadows of clouds.—
Joyce Carol Oates,
The New Yorker,
16 Mar. 2025
Verb
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His shot from just beyond the left circle deflected off Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly before fluttering past goaltender Joseph Woll and into the net.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
10 May 2025
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The red and yellow of Vietnam’s national flag was everywhere in the city — fluttering from buildings, painted on the faces of eager teenagers and on the T-shirts of those who had traveled to the city from all over the country.—
Aniruddha Ghosal,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Skitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skitter. Accessed 15 May. 2025.
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