scaly
adj.adj. covered in small, flat pieces of skin that overlap each other. You use this to describe animals like fish or reptiles, or even a dry, flaky skin condition.
adj. covered with small, overlapping plates or scales; having a dry, flaky surface. Often used to describe the integument of fish, reptiles, or amphibians, or a dermatological condition in humans.
The fish has a shiny, scaly body.
After swimming in the ocean all day, his skin felt dry and scaly from the saltwater.
The gecko's scaly skin provides a natural camouflage against the rough, sun-baked rocks of its desert habitat, allowing it to remain hidden from predators.
From Middle English scali, skaly. By surface analysis, scale + -y.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 25, 2026