skid row

noun

plural skid rows
: a disadvantaged area of a city or town regarded as a place where unhoused people or people with substance abuse issues often go

Examples of skid row in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Image According to court documents, Mr. Blaisdell went to Maui’s skid row on Aug. 11, 1994, with a man named Michael Freitas and $800 in cash to buy marijuana. Alexandra E. Petri, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025 Levin and McHugh’s largest project was the 2,346-unit Presidential Towers complex: four 49-story towers built in a onetime skid row area in the West Loop that had been cleared in 1968. Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2025 As Manhattan grew and wealthy residents moved uptown, the neighborhood began its slump into a skid row. Alex Vadukul, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2023 The council also opened the door to residential development in a portion of skid row bounded by 5th Street on the north, 7th Street on the south, San Pedro Street on the west and Central Avenue on the east. David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2023 See All Example Sentences for skid row

Word History

Etymology

alteration of skid road

First Known Use

circa 1927, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of skid row was circa 1927

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Cite this Entry

“Skid row.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skid%20row. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

skid row

noun
: a district of cheap saloons and cheap rooming houses in which vagrants and alcoholics live

More from Merriam-Webster on skid row

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