# skirt

/ˈskɝt/ (US) · /skˈɜːt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/skirt
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. clothing

noun · CEFR A1

a piece of clothing that hangs from the waist and covers part of the legs.

For teachers: a garment, or the lower part of a dress or coat, that hangs from the waist down.

- She chose a long, floral skirt to wear to the garden party.
- The traditional costume consists of a heavily embroidered woollen skirt paired with a linen blouse and a silk waistcoat.

### 2. an edge or border

noun · CEFR C1 · Literary

the outer edge or border of an area.

For teachers: the border, edge, or margin of a physical area or object.

- They built a small cabin on the skirt of the forest.
- The nomadic tribes settled briefly on the southern skirts of the desert before moving toward the mountain passes.

### 3. women

noun · CEFR C2 · Informal · Slang · Vulgar · British English

an old-fashioned and often rude way to talk about a woman.

For teachers: a derogatory or highly informal reference to a woman or women collectively, often in a sexualised context.

- He spent the whole night at the bar chasing skirt.
- The film was criticised for its dated dialogue, particularly the protagonist's tendency to refer to his female colleagues as skirt.

Teaching tip: This sense is considered offensive and sexist in modern English; learners should avoid using it.

### 4. to go around the edge

verb · CEFR B2

to go around the edge of something rather than through the middle.

For teachers: to move along or be situated at the edge of something.

- The new highway skirts the city to reduce traffic in the center.
- The hikers decided to skirt the marshland rather than risk getting stuck in the deep mud of the interior.

### 5. to avoid a topic

verb · CEFR B2

to avoid talking about a difficult subject or problem.

For teachers: to avoid dealing with a difficult issue or to mention a topic only indirectly.

- The politician skirted the question about taxes and talked about schools instead.
- During the press conference, the CEO carefully skirted the issue of potential layoffs, focusing instead on the company's quarterly growth.

## Examples

- She wears a long blue skirt to the office.
- The school uniform requires students to wear a dark grey skirt or trousers with a white shirt.
- The designer's spring collection featured a pleated silk skirt that moved fluidly with every step, contrasting sharply with the structured wool blazer worn above it.

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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.