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¹skin

noun, often attributive \ˈskin\

: the natural outer layer of tissue that covers the body of a person or animal

: the skin of an animal that has been removed from the body often with its hair or feathers still attached and that is used to make things (such as clothes)

: the outer covering of a fruit, vegetable, etc.

Full Definition of SKIN

a (1) : the integument of an animal (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 ⁴hide (2) : a sheet of parchment or vellum made from a hide (3) : bottle 1b

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 (as a rind or husk) of a fruit or seed

c : a membranous film or scum (as on boiling milk or drying paint)

: the life or physical well-being of a person <saved his own skin>

: a sheathing or casing forming the outside surface of a structure (as a ship or airplane)

— skin·less \-ləs\ adjective

— 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

See skin defined for English-language learners

See skin defined for kids

Origin of SKIN

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

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to SKIN

Synonyms: face, outside, shell, exterior, surface, veneer

Antonyms: inside, interior

Other Fur and Leather Terms

chamois, fell, kip

Rhymes with SKIN

bin, blin, chin, din, fin, Finn, Fyn, gin, grin, Gwyn, hin, in, inn, kin, linn, Lynn, pin, shin, Shin, sin, spin, thin, tin, twin, whin, win, wynn, yin, zin

²skin

verb

: to remove the skin of (an animal, fruit, or vegetable)

: to scrape or rub off some of the skin from (a body part)

skinnedskin·ning

Full Definition of SKIN

transitive verb

a : to strip, scrape, or rub off an outer covering (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>

a : to cover with or as if with skin

b : to heal over with skin

a : to strip of money or property : fleece

b : to defeat badly

c : censure, castigate

: to urge on and direct the course of (as a draft animal)

intransitive verb

: to become covered with or as if with skin

a : shinny

b : to pass or get by with scant room to spare

See skin defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of SKIN

14th century

Related to SKIN

Synonyms: bark, flay, hull, husk, shell, shuck, peel

³skin

adjective

Definition of SKIN

: devoted to showing nudes <skin magazines>

First Known Use of SKIN

1933

SKIN Defined for Kids

¹skin

noun \ˈskin\

Definition of SKIN for Kids

: the usually flexible outer layer of an animal body that in vertebrate animals is made up of two layers of cells forming an inner dermis and an outer epidermis

: the hide of an animal

: an outer or surface layer <potato skins>

— skin·less \-ləs\ adjective

— skinned \ˈskind\ adjective <smooth-skinned>

²skin

verb

skinnedskin·ning

Definition of SKIN for Kids

: to strip, scrape, or rub off the skin of <This was the first summer her knees had not been skinned a dozen times … — Betsy Byars, The Summer of the Swans>

: to remove an outer layer from (as by peeling)