skinny

1 of 2

adjective

skin·​ny ˈski-nē How to pronounce skinny (audio)
skinnier; skinniest
1
: resembling skin : membranous
2
a
: lacking sufficient flesh : very thin : emaciated
b
: lacking usual or desirable bulk, quantity, qualities, or significance
3
of clothes : fitting very close to the body : very tight
skinny jeans
4
: made with skim milk
a skinny latte
skinniness noun

skinny

2 of 2

noun

slang
: inside information : dope
the straight skinny on what's going onJohn Geary
Choose the Right Synonym for skinny

lean, spare, lank, lanky, gaunt, rawboned, scrawny, skinny mean thin because of an absence of excess flesh.

lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours.

a lean racehorse

spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise.

the gymnast's spare figure

lank implies tallness as well as leanness.

the lank legs of the heron

lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness.

a lanky youth, all arms and legs

gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering.

a prisoner's gaunt face

rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment.

a rawboned farmer

scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality.

a scrawny chicken
skinny street urchins

Examples of skinny in a Sentence

Adjective the tree swing was supported only by a couple of skinny branches her grandmother was always insisting that she was too skinny and never tired of trying to force more food on her Noun a TV show that offers all the skinny on Tinseltown and the stars that light it up
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The oversized silhouette is ideal with skinny jeans or leggings. Jamie Allison Sanders, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024 For progressive-minded voters, visual patriotism has been consigned to the dustbin of if not history then at least the one holding all our old skinny jeans and side parts. Mattie Kahn, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024 The first person to walk in appeared to be a female donning long hair and a mask while wearing boots, skinny jeans, a Nike hat and a white and yellowish-orange-sleeved jacket. Greg Wehner, Fox News, 5 Mar. 2024 The breadstick dough, a simple but dense monster, was rolled out into sheets, sprinkled with herbs and cheese, then cut and shaped into long, skinny sticks. Yewande Komolafe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024 On February 16, Markle once again paired her black skinny jeans with a sleek pair of black riding boots for a wheelchair curling event at the Hillcrest Community Centre in Vancouver. Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 17 Feb. 2024 The deer was struggling to move through the woods and appeared skinnier than a buck of his size should be. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 14 Feb. 2024 There is already a lawsuit from skinny bundler FuboTV, and potentially more to come. Howard Homonoff, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Like other divisive denim—think skinny jeans and wide-leg jeans—low-rise silhouettes are the subject of never-ending discourse, including among Glamour editors. Jake Smith, Glamour, 22 Feb. 2024
Noun
Pair with a flowy dress or take a note from Boone and tuck in some light-wash skinnies. Calin Van Paris, Peoplemag, 10 Feb. 2024 The Prima Mid Rise Stretch Ankle Cigarette Jeans A cigarette jean fits like a skinny, but has a straight ankle instead of a tapered one that the latter style features. Paula Lee, Glamour, 31 Oct. 2023 Prior to that, Emma Watson paired skinnies with a Schiaparelli power blazer when attending Daniel Roseberry’s couture show in Paris. Alex Kessler, Vogue, 21 Sep. 2023 Here’s the real skinny on 7 game-playing apps that promise cash. Kathy Kristof, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 July 2023 Lori revived the rebellious biker chick aesthetic that the iconic 2000s movie popularized with a 2023 twist, swapping the Angel's signature leather skinny jeans for baggy, low-rise parachute pants. Seventeen, 9 June 2023 Earlier articles spoke about packaging talent: the inside skinny of casting and tips to get the role. Susan Johnston, Rolling Stone, 16 May 2023 Nobody would mistake me for skinny. Evette Dionne, ELLE, 12 Dec. 2022 Tall skinny can in a bunch of bright colors? Abigail Rosenthal, Chron, 28 May 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'skinny.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

perhaps from skin entry 1 + -y entry 4

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1541, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1938, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of skinny was circa 1541

Dictionary Entries Near skinny

Cite this Entry

“Skinny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skinny. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

skinny

adjective
skin·​ny
ˈskin-ē
skinnier; skinniest
1
: resembling skin : membranous
a skinny layer
2
: very thin
skinniness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on skinny

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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