skittered; skittering; skitters
1
a
: to glide or skip lightly or quickly
b
: to move in or as in a jittery or jerky way
leaves skittering over the sidewalk
2
: to twitch the hook of a fishing line through or along the surface of water
: to cause to skitter
Examples of skitter in a Sentence
Dry leaves skittered over the sidewalk.
Mice skittered across the floor.
Recent Examples on the Web
Her characters skitter along in language, rarely lighting on anything for long.
—
Hilton Als, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
The game almost ended on Scott’s first pitch to Bailey when Dodgers catcher Ben Rortvedt made a smothering stop to keep the ball from skittering to the backstop, which, in hindsight, might have been an act of grace for the home team.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
The aforementioned eyeball alien buries itself deep into its prey before popping out and skittering along the floor like the world’s loudest spider.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2025
Rumors of a Satanic curse on the event skittered around the Haight, so early on the morning of the 14th, Ginsberg, Snyder, and Alan Watts conducted a pradakshina, a Buddhist purification rite.
—Dennis McNally, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skitter
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Hilton Als, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
The game almost ended on Scott’s first pitch to Bailey when Dodgers catcher Ben Rortvedt made a smothering stop to keep the ball from skittering to the backstop, which, in hindsight, might have been an act of grace for the home team.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
The aforementioned eyeball alien buries itself deep into its prey before popping out and skittering along the floor like the world’s loudest spider.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2025
Rumors of a Satanic curse on the event skittered around the Haight, so early on the morning of the 14th, Ginsberg, Snyder, and Alan Watts conducted a pradakshina, a Buddhist purification rite.
—Dennis McNally, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skitter
Cite this Entry
“Skitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skitter. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
skitter
verb
skit·ter
ˈskit-ər 
: to glide or skip lightly or quickly : skim along a surface
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share