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Added 9 October 2026

skitter

/ˈskɪtə(ɹ)/ verb

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about skitter at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To move hurriedly or as by bouncing or twitching; to scamper, to scurry; to scuttle.
I opened the cabinet and a number of cockroaches went skittering off into the darkness.
To make a scratching or scuttling noise while, or as if, skittering.
To move or pass (something) over a surface quickly so that it touches only at intervals; to skip, to skite.

noun

A skittering movement.
A skitter of activity.A skitter of gooseflesh.

verb

To cause to have diarrhea.
To suffer from a bout of diarrhea; to produce thin excrement.

noun

Often skitters: the condition of suffering from diarrhea; thin excrement.

Origin

Possibly a frequentative of skite (“to move lightly and hurriedly; to move suddenly, particularly in an oblique direction”) (Scotland, Northern England). The noun is derived from the verb.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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