# skew

/ˈskju/ (US) · /skjˈuː/ (UK) · CEFR C1 · Verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/skew
Updated: 2026-05-11

## Definition

to change something so that it is not accurate or fair. It often means making information or results lean toward one side.

For teachers: to distort or bias information, data, or a situation, causing it to be unrepresentative or asymmetrical. Often describes the effect of an outlier or a biased sampling method on a statistical set.

## Examples

- The bad weather might skew the results of our survey.
- Including the CEO's massive salary in the average would skew the data and make the company look richer than it is.
- The researchers worried that the high number of volunteers from urban areas would skew the study's findings, failing to reflect the reality of rural healthcare access.

## Pitfalls

- Not "the results were skew" but "the results were skewed" — Learners often use the base form 'skew' as an adjective, but the past participle 'skewed' is required to describe the state of being distorted.

## Usage notes

- The verb is transitive and takes a direct object. In statistical contexts, it is often used in the passive voice ('the data is skewed').

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.