Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

skirt

/skɚt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.96 in modern English

Syllables
skirt
IPA
/skɚt/
9
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A separate article of clothing, usually worn by women and girls, that hangs from the waist and covers the lower torso and part of the legs.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A similar part of a dress or robe, etc., that hangs below the waist.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A loose edging to any part of a dress.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A petticoat.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A woman.

Countable; Derogatory; Slang; Uncountable

noun

Women collectively, in a sexual context.

British usage; Colloquial; Uncountable

noun

Sexual intercourse with a woman.

British usage; Colloquial; Uncountable

noun

A border; edge; margin; extreme part of anything.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-der.? Proto-Germanic *skertaną Proto-Germanic *skurtaz Proto-Germanic *skurtijǭ Old Norse skyrtabor. Middle English skyrte English skirt From Middle English scyrt, skirt, skyrte, skyrthe, skyrtte, from Old Norse skyrta, from Proto-Germanic *skurtijǭ (“apron; skirt”), from *skurtaz (“short; deficient”), from *skertaną (“to cut off”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off; to divide”). Doublet of shirt. Cognates Cognate with Yola shoorth, skoorth (“shirt”), North Frisian Sjürt (“shirt”), Saterland Frisian Schoarte (“apron”), Dutch schort (“apron”), German Schürze (“apron”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk skjorte (“shirt”), Faroese skjúrta (“shirt”), Icelandic skyrta (“shirt”), Swedish skjorta (“shirt”), Irish sciorta (“skirt; strip”), Welsh sgert (“skirt”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *(s)ker-, scyrt, skyrta, *skurtijǭ

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /skɚt/
  • British English: /skɜːt/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce skirt?
The recorded pronunciation is /skɚt/.
What does skirt mean?
A separate article of clothing, usually worn by women and girls, that hangs from the waist and covers the lower torso and part of the legs.
Where does skirt come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce skirt

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “skirt”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/skɚt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “skirt”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “skirt” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.