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
Iguanas skittered across the dirt; birds and insects filled the air with noise.
—
Brigid Washington, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2026
Ice crystals skittered across the plateau, catching in the curve of the sastrugi before blowing free.
—Cree Lefavour, New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2026
Gu skittered off the first rail and toppled to her side, dashing her title hopes.
—Joseph Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
The two tuxedo cats skittered uneasily away from her, afraid of what kind of chaos this toddling creature would bring into their lives.
—Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 7 Feb. 2026
Smaller critters — hermit crabs, lightning whelks and snails — skittered along the seafloor.
—Max Chesnes, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Feb. 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
Brigid Washington, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2026
Ice crystals skittered across the plateau, catching in the curve of the sastrugi before blowing free.
—Cree Lefavour, New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2026
Gu skittered off the first rail and toppled to her side, dashing her title hopes.
—Joseph Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
The two tuxedo cats skittered uneasily away from her, afraid of what kind of chaos this toddling creature would bring into their lives.
—Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 7 Feb. 2026
Smaller critters — hermit crabs, lightning whelks and snails — skittered along the seafloor.
—Max Chesnes, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Feb. 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
-
Pip scurried over to take a seat on my foot.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
Lee, who had extended his hitting streak to 16 games the at-bat before, scurried back to first base.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
Evans even darted into a scrum to block on a run play.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
4 June 2026
-
As nearby teammates bowed and drenched their heads with water, the pair’s hands darted with purpose.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Advertisement Crossing an overpass into my western suburb of Baghdad, militia flags stamped with Ali Khamenei’s face fluttered in the wind.—
Nabil Salih,
Time,
26 May 2026
-
Xi and a line-up of his top officials shook hands with the Russian president, before the relaxed-looking leaders stood shoulder to shoulder during a gun salute, while a military band played and Russian and Chinese flags fluttered in the background.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
But the suspicion the US wasn’t really a football nation was compounded at the opening ceremony, after Diana Ross danced the length of the pitch to take a penalty kick and yanked the ball far left of the goal, which was unfortunately rigged to split apart to simulate a wonder-strike.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
9 June 2026
-
Guests danced at a discotheque designed by Tony-winning creative force Christine Schwarzman on the mezzanine, while inside the iconic Café Carlyle, Mark Strong and Lesley Manville — stars of Oedipus and noted martini enthusiasts — curated a specialty martini bar for partygoers.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skittered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skittered. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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