ski
n. countablen. one of a pair of long, thin pieces of wood, metal, or plastic that you attach to your boots. You use them to slide over snow or water.
n. a long, narrow runner of wood, plastic, or metal, often curved upward at the tip, used in pairs for gliding over snow or water. In aviation, it refers to a landing gear component used for landing on snow or ice.
He needs to wax his skis before the trip.
The pilot swapped the airplane's wheels for skis to ensure a safe landing on the frozen lake.
Modern skis are engineered with complex composite materials to provide the perfect balance of flexibility and edge control for high-speed descents.
From Norwegian ski, from Old Norse skíð (“stick of wood, snowshoe”), from Proto-Germanic skīdą (“stick”), from Proto-Indo-European skey- (“to cut, split”) (see also shed). Cognate with Old English sċīd (“stick of wood”) (modern shide), Old High German skit (Modern German Scheit (“log”)).
Commonly used in the plural when referring to the equipment as a pair.