often attributive
1
a(1)
: the integument of an animal (such as a fur-bearing mammal or a bird) separated from the body usually with its hair or feathers
(2)
: a usually unmounted specimen of a vertebrate (as in a museum)
b
: the hide or pelt of a game or domestic animal
c(1)
: the pelt of an animal prepared for use as a trimming or in a garment compare hide entry 2
(2)
: a sheet of parchment or vellum made from a hide
2
a
: the external limiting tissue layer of an animal body
especially : the 2-layered covering of a vertebrate body consisting of an outer epidermis and an inner dermis
b
: an outer covering (such as a rind or husk) of a fruit or seed
c
: a membranous film or scum (as on boiling milk or drying paint)
3
: the life or physical well-being of a person
saved his own skin
4
: a sheathing or casing forming the outside surface of a structure (such as a ship or airplane)

skin

2 of 3

verb

skinned; skinning

transitive verb

1
a
: to strip, scrape, or rub off an outer covering (such as the skin or rind) of
b
: to strip or peel off
c
: to cut, chip, or damage the surface of
fell and skinned my knee
2
a
: to cover with or as if with skin
b
: to heal over with skin
3
a
: to strip of money or property : fleece
b
: to defeat badly
4
: to urge on and direct the course of (a draft animal)

intransitive verb

1
: to become covered with or as if with skin
2
a
: shinny
b
: to pass or get by with scant room to spare

skin

3 of 3

adjective

: devoted to showing nudes
skin magazines
Phrases
by the skin of one's teeth
: by a very narrow margin
under one's skin
: so deeply penetrative as to irritate, stimulate, provoke thought, or otherwise excite
under the skin
: beneath apparent or surface differences : at heart

Examples of skin in a Sentence

Noun the rough skin of a shark Choose makeup that matches your skin tone. These snakes shed their skins once a year.
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.
Noun
Adding a high-quality dry brush to your routine can leave your skin feeling smoother, more radiant, and energized. Julie Loffredi, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025 Zoe Saldaña Nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Emilia Perez, Saldaña's skin is being prepped by the celebrity makeup artist Vera Steinberg using CurrentBody. Catherine Santino, People.com, 3 Mar. 2025
Verb
Healthy coyotes can be skinned for the fur, and the glands, urine, teeth, claws, and bones can be used for various purposes. Skye Goode, Outdoor Life, 27 Feb. 2025 But what people don’t understand, people like that, is that that’s just one way that songwriters skin the cat, kill the bird, whatever. Katherine Turman, SPIN, 3 Feb. 2025
Adjective
Most of the sub-skin hardware comes from Fiat and English Ford parts bins. Arthur St. Antoine, Car and Driver, 25 Nov. 2020 Then there are the shocking statistics around breast cancer, which affects one in every eight women and is the most common non-skin cancer affecting women. Maria Aspan, Fortune, 30 June 2020 See All Example Sentences for skin

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old Norse skinn; akin to Old English scinn skin, Middle High German schint fruit peel

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Adjective

1933, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of skin was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Skin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skin. Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

1
a
: the outer layer of an animal when separated from the body usually with its hair or feathers : hide, pelt
b
: a sheet of parchment or fine-grained leather made from a hide
2
a
: the usually tough and flexible outer layer of an animal body that in vertebrates is made up of two layers including an inner dermis and an outer epidermis
b
: an outer covering or surface layer
a sausage skin
apple skins
3
: the life or physical well-being of a person
made sure to save his skin
skinned
ˈskind
adjective

skin

2 of 2 verb
skinned; skinning
1
: to strip, scrape, or rub off the skin of
skin an animal
skinned my knee
2
: to cover or become covered with or as if with skin
3
4
a
: to climb up or down
skin up and down a rope
b
: to pass or get by with little room to spare

Medical Definition

: the 2-layered covering of the body consisting of an outer ectodermal epidermis that is more or less cornified and penetrated by the openings of sweat and sebaceous glands and an inner mesodermal dermis that is composed largely of connective tissue and is richly supplied with blood vessels and nerves

skin

2 of 2 transitive verb
skinned; skinning
: to cut or scrape the skin of
fell and skinned his knee

More from Merriam-Webster on skin

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