Dictionary
skirt
Pronunciation: (skûrt), [key]—
n.
1. the part of a gown, dress, slip, or coat that extends downward from the waist.
2. a one-piece garment extending downward from the waist and not joined between the legs, worn esp. by women and girls.
3. some part resembling or suggesting the skirt of a garment, as the flared lip of a bell or a protective and ornamental cloth strip covering the legs of furniture.
4. a small leather flap on each side of a saddle, covering the metal bar from which the stirrup hangs. See diag. under
saddle.
5. Building Trades.
a. baseboard (def. 1).
b. apron (def. 13).
6. Also called
apron. Furniture.
a. a flat horizontal brace set immediately beneath the seat of a chair, chest of drawers, or the like, to strengthen the legs.
b. Also called
bed, frieze. a flat brace or support immediately beneath a tabletop.
7. Usually,
skirts. the bordering, marginal, or outlying part of a place, group, etc.; the outskirts.
8. Slang (disparaging and offensive). a woman or girl.
9. Rocketry.an outer part of a rocket or missile that provides structural support or houses such systems as avionics or gyroscopes.
—
v.t.
1. to lie on or along the border of:
The hills skirt the town.
2. to border, wrap, or cover with a skirt or something suggesting a skirt in appearance or function.
3. to pass along or around the border or edge of:
Traffic skirts the town.
4. to avoid, go around the edge of, or keep distant from (something that is controversial, risky, etc.):
The senator skirted the issue.
5. to remove low-grade wool and foreign matter from (the outer edge of fleece).
—
v.i.
1. to be or lie on or along the edge of something.
2. to move along or around the border of something.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
