as in scurrying
to move quickly and lightly along a surface
Dry leaves skittered over the sidewalk. Mice skittered across the floor.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
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
-
Just across from the main entrance to App State, the small parking lot has cars darting in and out all day.—
Sheri Castle,
Southern Living,
31 Aug. 2025
-
As the temperature surged to two hundred degrees, Solórzano slammed a snowball scented with black pepper and juniper tar onto the rocks, filling the room with a gunpowdery musk, and waved furiously, darting up and down the sauna stairs, tossing his towel in an elegant plume of white.—
Leslie Jamison,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
From November to March, the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve transforms into a vibrant, fluttering kingdom.—
Gaby Keiderling,
Robb Report,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
During their first night out together, the couple ducks into a Spanish nightclub, drinking under a smear of colored lights and then dancing.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
-
As a guy who is simply not built for summer (sweaty, burns easily, refuses to wear shorts), the turning of the calendar to September adds a little lead to my tread, with visions of cider and sweaters dancing in my head.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Skittering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skittering. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share