skirt
/skə:t/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A garment worn by women and girls that hangs from the waist: A piece of clothing that covers the body from the waist down, typically without separate leg sections.
- An informal term for a (young) woman: (Slang, often considered dated or offensive) A woman or girl.
- A border or edge: The outer edge or boundary of something.
- (In mycology) A remnant of the partial veil on a mushroom: A ring of tissue around the stem of some mature mushrooms.
Verb:
- To go around or along the edge of something: To move, be, or lie along the border or boundary of an area.
- To avoid dealing with (an issue, question, or duty): To evade or circumvent a topic, problem, or responsibility.
- To form or serve as a border to: To be situated along the edge of something.
Examples of Usage
Noun:
- She wore a long, black skirt to the party.
- The factory was built on the skirts of the town.
- The field guide noted the mushroom's distinctive skirt.
Verb:
- The hiking trail skirts the lake, offering beautiful views.
- The politician skillfully skirted the reporter's difficult question.
- Mountains skirt the northern edge of the valley.
Advanced Usage
"To skirt the issue/law/rules": To avoid dealing directly with a problem or to find a way around a regulation.
- The company was accused of skirting environmental laws.
"To skirt around something": To move around the edges of a place or topic.
- We had to skirt around the flooded section of the road.
Variants and Related Words
Skirting (noun): Material used for making skirts; also refers to a border or edging.
- The skirting around the base of the wall was made of wood.
Mini-skirt (noun): A very short skirt.
- Pencil skirt (noun): A narrow, straight skirt.
Synonyms
- Noun (garment): Kilt, sarong.
- Noun (edge): Perimeter, fringe, margin, periphery.
- Verb (go around): Border, flank, edge, circle.
- Verb (avoid): Evade, circumvent, dodge, sidestep.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Skirt around: To avoid dealing with something directly; to move around the edge of an area.
- He spent the meeting skirting around the main financial problems.
Related Idioms
- On the skirts of: Located on the outer edge or periphery of a place.
- They lived in a cottage on the skirts of the forest.
Noun
- informal terms for a (young) woman
- (Fungi) a remnant of the partial veil that in mature mushrooms surrounds the stem like a collar
- a garment hanging from the waist; worn mainly by girls and women
- cloth covering that forms the part of a garment below the waist
Verb
- extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle
- The forest surrounds my property
- form the edge of
- pass around or about; move along the border
- The boat skirted the coast
- avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
- He dodged the issue
- she skirted the problem
- They tend to evade their responsibilities
- he evaded the questions skillfully