noun
skirt
skurt
noun
1
A piece of clothing that hangs from the waist, covering the lower body.
"She wore a long denim skirt to the interview."
"He bought his daughter a pleated skirt for the school uniform."
verb
1
To go around the edge of something rather than through the middle.
"The road skirts the edge of the forest."
"They skirted the city to avoid the traffic."
2
To avoid dealing with something directly.
"The politician skirted the question about tax increases."
How to Use Skirt
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe clothing item worn from the waist down, or — as a verb — to go around the edge of something instead of facing it directly.
Common mistake
Don't confuse the clothing noun with the verb sense meaning "avoid"; both are common but mean very different things ("wearing a skirt" vs. "skirting the issue").
Common pairings
skirt the issue
skirt around a problem
pencil skirt
Word Forms
skirted past tense, skirts plural, skirts singular
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She wore a long denim _____ to the interview.
Etymology
From Old Norse skyrta, a doublet of the English word "shirt" — both ultimately meant a piece of cloth worn on the body, before splitting into separate garments in meaning.