as in scurrying
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 skittering
The aforementioned eyeball alien buries itself deep into its prey before popping out and skittering along the floor like the world’s loudest spider.
—
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2025
But then Mboko, who had used her power to send Osaka skittering across the baseline and backpedaling all evening, feathered a soft drop shot into the open space at the front of the court.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 8 Aug. 2025
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2025
But then Mboko, who had used her power to send Osaka skittering across the baseline and backpedaling all evening, feathered a soft drop shot into the open space at the front of the court.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skittering
Verb
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With multiple Commanders defenders in pursuit, Burrow didn’t try to go out of bounds or slide, but rather turned around and tried scurrying away from them to keep the play alive.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
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And Bryce Harper made a play on a bunt, darting into the infield and throwing the ball to Alec Bohm at third for a force-out to keep runners on first and second.—
Charlotte Varnes,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
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Weeks of driving around the Central Valley, darting between muddy fields not unlike the very birds they were hired to monitor, has reinforced to Carr and Stallworth how much available habitat remains.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Where at one time soldiers and sailors made do with fluttering flags or flashes of light to send simple messages, the modern warfighter is part of a global digital network where data rushes about like water out of a firehose and satellites act as a vital link in that network.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 Sep. 2025
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From November to March, the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve transforms into a vibrant, fluttering kingdom.—
Gaby Keiderling,
Robb Report,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Auroras — Crown of Light by Kavan Chay Photographer Kavan Chay took this spectacular image of a red, green and yellow aurora dancing through the starry sky above Tumbledown Bay in New Zealand on May 10, 2024 during a category G5 geomagnetic storm.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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Some of these videos showcase previous successes, such as a clip showing an 8-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl dancing together on snowboards.—
Maria Williams,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Skittering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skittering. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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