as in scurried
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 skittered
Ahead of me, five more disembodied beams skittered across the snow, each emitting from the skiers ahead of me.
—
Tim Neville, Travel + Leisure, 27 Jan. 2026
But Pastrnak had already headed up ice and the puck skittered into no-man’s land.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 24 Dec. 2025
Bats were flipped, benches cleared, Toronto’s manager was ejected and throws skittered around PNC Park.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
Rumors of a Satanic curse on the event skittered around the Haight, so early on the morning of the 14th, Ginsberg, Snyder, and Alan Watts conducted a pradakshina, a Buddhist purification rite.
—Dennis McNally, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025
Tim Neville, Travel + Leisure, 27 Jan. 2026
But Pastrnak had already headed up ice and the puck skittered into no-man’s land.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 24 Dec. 2025
Bats were flipped, benches cleared, Toronto’s manager was ejected and throws skittered around PNC Park.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
Rumors of a Satanic curse on the event skittered around the Haight, so early on the morning of the 14th, Ginsberg, Snyder, and Alan Watts conducted a pradakshina, a Buddhist purification rite.
—Dennis McNally, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skittered
Verb
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The clatter of rising shutters echoed through the empty streets, the occasional rambler scurried past, along the walls, bundled tightly in his coat, women walked by with milk bottles tucked in shawls wrapped around their chests.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Tirado scurried to at least half a dozen bags before finding his and pulling out … pickle juice.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Nov. 2025
Verb
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With the game out of reach, Kuechly undercut receiver John Brown, intercepted Palmer and darted in for a 22-yard touchdown.—
Joseph Person,
New York Times,
2 Feb. 2026
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The Broncos could hardly stop running back James Cook with a head of steam, as Cook darted up wide-open holes time and again in a 24-carry, 117-yard performance.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The clergy made a full lap around the field to make sure all the angles were covered, including the end where Loop's very makeable kick fluttered wide.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026
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Almost 35 years later, the fight that started before that single envelope fluttered into his cell is not over.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
27 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
The toddler danced around, incapable of containing his energy.—
Maeva Bambuck,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
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Pacheco danced on her college team at San Jose State, then danced professionally for the Disney Cruise Line and Great America.—
Jason Mastrodonato,
Mercury News,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skittered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skittered. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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