often attributive
1
a(1)
: the integument of an animal (such as a fur-bearing mammal or a bird) separated from the body usually with its hair or feathers
(2)
: a usually unmounted specimen of a vertebrate (as in a museum)
b
: the hide or pelt of a game or domestic animal
c(1)
: the pelt of an animal prepared for use as a trimming or in a garment compare hide entry 2
(2)
: a sheet of parchment or vellum made from a hide
(3)
2
a
: the external limiting tissue layer of an animal body
especially
: the 2-layered covering of a vertebrate body consisting of an outer epidermis and an inner dermis
b
: an outer covering (such as a rind or husk) of a fruit or seed
c
: a membranous film or scum (as on boiling milk or drying paint)
3
: the life or physical well-being of a person
saved his own skin
4
: a sheathing or casing forming the outside surface of a structure (such as a ship or airplane)
skinned; skinning
1
a
: to strip, scrape, or rub off an outer covering (such as the skin or rind) of
b
: to strip or peel off
c
: to cut, chip, or damage the surface of
fell and skinned my knee
2
a
: to cover with or as if with skin
b
: to heal over with skin
4
: to urge on and direct the course of (a draft animal)
1
: to become covered with or as if with skin
2
a
: shinny
b
: to pass or get by with scant room to spare
: devoted to showing nudes
skin magazines
Examples of skin in a Sentence
Noun
the rough skin of a shark
Choose makeup that matches your skin tone.
These snakes shed their skins once a year.
Native Americans had many uses for animal skins.
His boots are made of alligator skin.
Potato skin is very nutritious.
Verb
The hunter skinned the rabbit and prepared it for cooking.
I skinned my knee when I fell.
Recent Examples on the Web
Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 26 Oct. 2025
The character was loosely inspired by Ed Gein, a real serial killer and grave robber from Wisconsin who dug up corpses and used their bones and skin to make everything from clothing to furniture and even silverware.
—Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 26 Oct. 2025
This can include field dressing, skinning, butchering into various cuts and packaging.
—Gabrielle Chenault, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skin
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
This set of five mid-rise thongs is designed for yoga and everyday wear, with chafe-resistant flat seams and a stretchy waistband that won’t dig into skin.
—Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 26 Oct. 2025
The character was loosely inspired by Ed Gein, a real serial killer and grave robber from Wisconsin who dug up corpses and used their bones and skin to make everything from clothing to furniture and even silverware.
—Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
Everyone knows that some form of Hamas—skinned of the top echelon of its leadership—has survived and rules the parts of Gaza that Israel never fully occupied.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 26 Oct. 2025
This can include field dressing, skinning, butchering into various cuts and packaging.
—Gabrielle Chenault, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skin
Video
When Body Parts Are Also Verbs
Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes
Cite this Entry
“Skin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skin. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
skin
1 of 2 noun1
b
: a sheet of parchment or fine-grained leather made from a hide
2
a
: the usually tough and flexible outer layer of an animal body that in vertebrates is made up of two layers including an inner dermis and an outer epidermis
b
: an outer covering or surface layer
a sausage skin
apple skins
3
: the life or physical well-being of a person
made sure to save his skin
skinned
adjective
ˈskind
skin
2 of 2 verb
skinned; skinning
1
: to strip, scrape, or rub off the skin of
skin an animal
skinned my knee
2
: to cover or become covered with or as if with skin
4
a
: to climb up or down
skin up and down a rope
b
: to pass or get by with little room to spare
Medical Definition
skin
1 of 2 noun
: the 2-layered covering of the body consisting of an outer ectodermal epidermis that is more or less cornified and penetrated by the openings of sweat and sebaceous glands and an inner mesodermal dermis that is composed largely of connective tissue and is richly supplied with blood vessels and nerves
skin
2 of 2 transitive verb
skinned; skinning
: to cut or scrape the skin of
fell and skinned his knee
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