skitter
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skitter¹
- /ˈskɪtə(ɹ)/ UK
- /ˈskɪtɚ/ US
- [ˈskɪɾɚ] US
Sounds like skidder (in some dialects) · Rhymes with -ɪtə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
Possibly a frequentative of skite (“to move lightly and hurriedly; to move suddenly, particularly in an oblique direction”) (Scotland, Northern England). The noun is derived from the verb.
verb skitters · skittering · skittered
- To move hurriedly or as by bouncing or twitching; to scamper, to scurry; to scuttle. I opened the cabinet and a number of cockroaches went skittering off into the darkness.
- To make a scratching or scuttling noise while, or as if, skittering. Both "Dark Snow" and "Aurelia" [by AFI] feature subtle washes of brittle piano à la Decemberunderground, while "She Speaks The Language" boasts a skittering electronic underbelly, and eerie synths are suspended like low clouds in "Above The Bridge."
- To move or pass (something) over a surface quickly so that it touches only at intervals; to skip, to skite. "Skittering," continued the Professor, "is practiced with a strong line about the length of the rod, to which is affixed a small trolling-spoon, a minnow, or a piece of pork-rind cut in the rude semblance of a small fish. The boat is poled along, as in ‘bobbing,’ but farther out in the stream, when
noun skitters
- A skittering movement. A skitter of activity. A skitter of gooseflesh.
skitter²
- /ˈskɪtə(ɹ)/ UK
- /ˈskɪtɚ/ US
- [ˈskɪɾɚ] US
Sounds like skidder (in some dialects) · Rhymes with -ɪtə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From skite (“to defecate”) + -er (frequentative suffix). The noun is derived from the verb.
verb skitters · skittering · skittered
- To cause to have diarrhea. "[…] I'd like you to give the calves two heaped tablespoonfuls [of Epsom salts] three times a day." / "Oh 'ell, you'll skitter the poor buggers to death!" / "Maybe so, but there's nothing else for it," I said.
- To suffer from a bout of diarrhea; to produce thin excrement. As a symptomatic phenomenon, Diarrhœa is skittering, i.e., the discharges are composed of water, intermingled with particles of imperfectly digested food; from two to six or eight discharges may thus take place, and it is an invariable precursor of constipation.
noun skitters
- Often skitters: the condition of suffering from diarrhea; thin excrement. I can't give it my immediate attention, as the cow has the skitter (diarrhoea) and I'm waiting on the Vit (vet).
Translations
Talk about this word "skitter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/skitter. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. skitter. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/skitter "skitter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/skitter.Cite this
@misc{skitter_2026,
title = {skitter},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/skitter},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
