skirt

UK: /ˈskɜː^rt/ US: /skɝt/ ,(skûrt)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

skirt /skɜrt/   n. [countable]

1. Clothing the part of a gown, dress, etc., that hangs downward from the waist.
2. Clothing a one-piece garment hanging downward from the waist and not joined between the legs, worn esp. by women and girls.
3. some part resembling the skirt of a garment, as on furniture.
4. Slang Terms, Sex and Gender (usually offensive). a woman or girl.

v. 

5. to lie along the border of:
   [~ + object] The hills skirt the town.
6. to pass along the edge of (something): [~ + object]
   Traffic skirts the monument.
   [no object]
   to skirt around the rioting crowd.
7. to avoid, go around the edge of, or keep distant from (something controversial, risky, etc.):
   [~ + object] tried to skirt the issue.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

skirt  (skûrt), n. 

1. Clothing the part of a gown, dress, slip, or coat that extends downward from the waist.
2. Clothing a one-piece garment extending downward from the waist and not joined between the legs, worn esp. by women and girls.
3. some part resembling or suggesting the skirt of a garment, as the flared lip of a bell or a protective and ornamental cloth strip covering the legs of furniture.
4. a small leather flap on each side of a saddle, covering the metal bar from which the stirrup hangs. See diag. under saddle. 
5. Building
   • baseboard (def. 1).
   • apron (def. 13).
6. Furniture Also called apron. 
   • a flat horizontal brace set immediately beneath the seat of a chair, chest of drawers, or the like, to strengthen the legs.
   • Also called bed, frieze. a flat brace or support immediately beneath a tabletop.
7. Usually, skirts. the bordering, marginal, or outlying part of a place, group, etc.;
   the outskirts.
8. Slang Terms, Sex and Gender (disparaging and offensive). a woman or girl.
9. Rocketry an outer part of a rocket or missile that provides structural support or houses such systems as avionics or gyroscopes.

v.t. 

10. to lie on or along the border of:
    The hills skirt the town.
11. to border, wrap, or cover with a skirt or something suggesting a skirt in appearance or function.
12. to pass along or around the border or edge of:
    Traffic skirts the town.
13. to avoid, go around the edge of, or keep distant from (something that is controversial, risky, etc.):
    The senator skirted the issue.
14. to remove low-grade wool and foreign matter from (the outer edge of fleece).

v.i. 

15. to be or lie on or along the edge of something.
16. to move along or around the border of something.

• Old Norse skyrta shirt
• Middle English skirte 1250–1300

skirt′less, adj. 
skirt′like′, adj. 
Synonyms

• 13. evade, shun, circle, bypass.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

skirt / skɜːt/ noun

1. a garment hanging from the waist, worn chiefly by women and girls
2. the part of a dress below the waist
3. Also called: apron a frieze or circular flap, as round the base of a hovercraft
4. the flaps on a saddle that protect a rider's legs
5. a cut of beef from the flank
6. (often plural) a margin or outlying area
7. a bit of skirt ⇒ a woman considered sexually

verb

1. (transitive) to form the edge of
2. (transitive) to provide with a border
3. when intr, followed by around, along, etc: to pass (by) or be situated (near) the outer edge of (an area, etc)
4. (transitive) to avoid (a difficulty, etc): he skirted the issue
5. to remove the trimmings or inferior wool from (a fleece)

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old Norse skyrta shirt

ˈskirted adjective