<B>ski flying,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the sport of jumping on skis to cover as much ground as possible. <BR> <I>Ex. In ski flying, only distance counts, with no marks for form (James O. Dunaway).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skiing">
<B>skiing, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act or sport of gliding over snow on skis. <BR> <I>Ex. to be skillful at skiing.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skijoring">
<B>skijoring, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a sport in which a person is towed on skis over snow or ice by a horse or vehicle. </DL>
<A NAME="skijump">
<B>ski jump,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a jump made by a person on skis off the end of an elevated runway. <DD><B> 2. </B>an elevated runway for making such a jump. </DL>
<A NAME="skijump">
<B>ski-jump, </B>intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to make a ski jump or jumps. <BR> <I>Ex. The ... photo editor wanted a picture of him ski-jumping (Maclean's).</I> </DL>
<B>ski lift,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various mechanisms for transporting skiers to the top of a slope, such as a chair running on a suspended cable. <BR> <I>Ex. Liechtenstein has no ski lifts; the husky young Olympians must hike up the steep Alpine slopes on foot (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skill">
<B>skill</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>ability gained by practice or knowledge; expertness. <BR> <I>Ex. to drive a car with skill. The trained teacher managed the children with skill. He had conducted an important negotiation with skill and tact (Lytton Strachey).</I> (SYN) facility, proficiency. <DD><B> 2. </B>ability to do things well with one's body or with tools. <BR> <I>Ex. It takes great skill to tune a piano. Not everyone has the skill to become a watchmaker.</I> (SYN) dexterity, deftness, adroitness. <DD><B> 3. </B>work that requires expert ability; art or craft. <BR> <I>Ex. to master the carpenter's skill, a lawyer's skill.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) cause; reason. <BR> <I>Ex. I think you have as little skill to fear as I have purpose to put you to't (Shakespeare).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skill">
<B>skill</B> (2), intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) <DD><B> 1. </B>to make a difference; matter. <BR> <I>Ex. Whate'er he be, it skills not much, we'll fit him to our turn (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to avail; help. <BR> <I>Ex. Whatever we say skills but little.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skilled">
<B>skilled, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having skill; trained; experienced. <BR> <I>Ex. A carpenter is a skilled workman.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>showing skill; requiring skill. <BR> <I>Ex. a skilled piece of work. Plastering is skilled labor.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skilless">
<B>skilless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> lacking skill; unskilled; unskillful. <BR> <I>Ex. Let me see the wound; I am not quite skilless (Byron).</I> noun <B>skillessness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="skillet">
<B>skillet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a shallow pan with a long handle, used for frying. <DD><B> 2. </B>a saucepan with a long handle. </DL>
<A NAME="skillful">
<B>skillful, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having skill; expert. <BR> <I>Ex. He is a very skillful surgeon.</I> (SYN) dexterous, deft, adroit, proficient. <DD><B> 2. </B>showing skill. <BR> <I>Ex. That is a skillful piece of bricklaying.</I> (SYN) dexterous, deft, adroit, proficient. Also, <B>skilful.</B> noun <B>skillfulness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="skillfully">
<B>skillfully, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> with skill; expertly. </DL>
<A NAME="skilling">
<B>skilling, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a copper coin and money of account formerly used in Scandinavian countries, having a value of less than one cent. </DL>
<A NAME="skillion">
<B>skillion, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Australian.) a lean-to or shed. </DL>
<B>skilly, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a thin, watery soup or gruel formerly fed to prisoners and paupers. <DD><B> 2. </B>a drink made of oatmeal, sugar, and water formerly served to sailors in the British navy. </DL>
<A NAME="skim">
<B>skim, </B>verb, <B>skimmed,</B> <B>skimming,</B> noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to remove from the top. <BR> <I>Ex. Mother skims the fat from her homemade soup.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to take something from the top of. <BR> <I>Ex. She skims the soup to remove most of the fat.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to move lightly over. <BR> <I>Ex. gulls skimming the water. The pebble I threw skimmed the little waves. The skaters skimmed the ice.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to cause to fly lightly; send skimming. <BR> <I>Ex. You can skim a flat stone over the water.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>to read hastily; read with omissions. <BR> <I>Ex. It took me an hour to skim the book.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>to cover with a thin layer such as of ice or scum. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to move lightly (over or through). <BR> <I>Ex. skaters skimming over the ice, to skim through the newspaper headlines.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to glide along. <BR> <I>Ex. The swallows were skimming by.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to become covered as with a thin layer of ice or scum. <BR> <I>Ex. The pond skimmed over with ice during the night.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>something which is skimmed off. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=skim milk.</B> <DD><B> 3. </B>a skimming or moving lightly. <DD><I>adj. </I> skimmed. </DL>
<A NAME="skimask">
<B>ski mask,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a head covering of knitted material, with holes for the eyes and mouth, used by skiers to protect the face from the wind and cold. </DL>
<A NAME="skimbleskamble">
<B>skimble-skamble</B> or <B>skimble-scamble, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) <DD><I>adj. </I> rambling; confused; silly. <BR> <I>Ex. Such a deal of skimble-scamble stuff, as puts me from my faith (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> nonsense; gabble. </DL>
<A NAME="skimmedmilk">
<B>skimmed milk,</B> =skim milk.</DL>
<A NAME="skimmer">
<B>skimmer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person or thing that skims. <DD><B> 2. </B>a shallow ladle, full of holes, with a long handle. It is used in skimming liquids. <DD><B> 3. </B>a kind of sea bird that skims the surface of the water to get food; scissorbill. The skimmers comprise a family of birds, related to the gulls. <DD><B> 4. </B>a man's or woman's straw hat with a flat crown and wide brim. <BR> <I>Ex. Not since the heyday of the Homburg and the skimmer have hat makers had so much to be happy about (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(U.S.) a simply cut dress with straight lines, often sleeveless and with a round neck. <BR> <I>Ex. A dress that could be all things to all women is a skimmer ... of flannel with small sleeves (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>any one of various clams or scallops. <BR> <I>Ex. We ... watched Olaf [the walrus] munch some skimmer clams and herring out of a pail (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="skimmilk">
<B>skim milk,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> milk from which the cream has been removed. </DL>
<A NAME="skimming">
<B>skimming, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of one that skims. <DD><B> 2. </B>that which is skimmed off. <BR> <I>Ex. greasy skimmings from soup.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the practice of concealing a part of the winnings of a gambling casino to avoid paying taxes. <BR><I>expr. <B>skimmings,</B> </I>(Metallurgy.) dross. </DL>
<A NAME="skimmingdish">
<B>skimming dish,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>a shallow dish used in skimming liquids; skimmer. <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. The adherents of the inexplicable ... hinted that their antagonists were mere skimming dishes in point of depth (George Eliot).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a kind of shallow sailboat or speedboat. </DL>
<A NAME="skimmington">
<B>skimmington, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a burlesque procession or serenade formerly held in ridicule of a henpecked husband, common in villages and country districts of England. <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S. Dialect.) a mock serenade for newly married persons; shivaree. </DL>
<A NAME="skimo">
<B>Skimo, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Canadian Slang.) an Eskimo (used in an unfriendly way). </DL>
<A NAME="skimobile">
<B>skimobile, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small automobile running on tracks, for carrying skiers to the top of a slope. </DL>
<A NAME="skimp">
<B>skimp, </B>verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to supply in too small an amount. <BR> <I>Ex. Don't skimp the butter in making a cake.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to do imperfectly. <BR> <I>Ex. The lazy boy skimped his job.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to be very saving or economical. <BR> <I>Ex. She had to skimp to send her daughter to college.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to do something imperfectly. <BR> <I>Ex. He was always skimping on his assignments.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> scanty; skimpy. adv. <B>skimpingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="skimpy">
<B>skimpy, </B>adjective, <B>skimpier,</B> <B>skimpiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>not enough; scanty. <BR> <I>Ex. a skimpy bathing suit. He got hungry in the afternoon after a skimpy lunch.</I> (SYN) meager. <DD><B> 2. </B>too saving or economical. (SYN) parsimonious. adv. <B>skimpily.</B> noun <B>skimpiness.</B> </DL>
