skirt

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A separate article of clothing, usually worn by women and girls, that hangs from the waist and covers the lower torso and part of the legs.

   “"I like purple best," said Maida. "And old Schlegel has promised to make it for $8. It's going to be lovely. I'm going to have a plaited skirt and a blouse coat trimmed with a band of galloon under a white cloth collar with two rows of—"”

2. (countable, uncountable)A similar part of a dress or robe, etc., that hangs below the waist.

   “The petticoats and skirts ordinarily worn are decidedly the heaviest part of the dress ; hence it is necessary that some reform should be effected in these.”

   ““It's all clear,” he whispered. “Have you the chisel and the bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!” Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts.”

   “I had sprung to my feet. I was speaking, and yet I had prepared no words. Tarp Henry, my companion, was plucking at my skirts and I heard him whispering, "Sit down, Malone! Don't make a public ass of yourself."”

3. (countable, uncountable)A loose edging to any part of a dress.

   “A narrow lace, or a small skirt of fine ruffled linen, which runs along the upper part of the stays before, and crosses the breast, being a part of the tucker, is called the modesty piece.”

4. (countable, uncountable)A petticoat.
5. (countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable)A woman.

   “"Mate," said the Cockney, after we'd finished about half the bottle, "it comes to me that we're a couple o' blightin' idjits to be workin' for a skirt." "What d'ya mean?" I asked, taking a pull at the bottle. "Well, 'ere's us, two red-blooded 'e-men, takin' orders from a lousy little frail, 'andin' the swag h'over to 'er, and takin' wot she warnts to 'and us, w'en we could 'ave the 'ole lot. Take this job 'ere now--"”

   “But I tell ya, I can't help but like a guy who wants to rescue some skirt he fell for.”

6. (UK, colloquial, uncountable)Women collectively, in a sexual context.
7. (UK, colloquial, uncountable)Sexual intercourse with a woman.
8. (countable, uncountable)A border; edge; margin; extreme part of anything.

   “here in the skirts of the forest, like fringe upon a petticoat.”

   “I am a shadow now, alas! alas! / Upon the skirts of human-nature dwelling / Alone: [...]”

   “That each, who seems a separate whole, ⁠Should move his rounds, and fusing all ⁠The skirts of self again, should fall Remerging in the general Soul, Is faith as vague as all unsweet: […]”

9. (countable, uncountable)A diaphragm, or midriff.

verb

1. To be on or form the border of.

   “The plain was skirted by rows of trees.”

   “The lofty mountains roſe faint to the ſight and loſt their foreheads in the diſtant ſkies: the little hills, cloathed in darker green and ſkirted with embroidered vales, diſcovered the ſecret haunts of kids and bounding roes.”

   “The railway, which is single track throughout, skirts the left bank of the estuary of the River Colne, and was washed out over a length of about three miles.”

2. To move around or along the border of; to avoid the center of.

   “skirt a mountain”

   “An enormous man and woman (it was early-closing day) were stretched motionless, with their heads on pocket-handkerchiefs, side by side, within a few feet of the sea, while two or three gulls gracefully skirted the incoming waves, and settled near their boots.”

   “As we skirted the shores of the Dornoch Firth, between Tain and Bonar Bridge, the views across the water to the Sutherland mountains were particularly fine in the early morning sunshine.”

   “After Nanhsi, head into the hills again as you skirt Tsengwen Reservoir on a roller coaster of steep grades.”

   “A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays. […] This would also let high-speed trains skirt cities as moving platforms ferry passengers to and from the city centre.”

3. To cover with a skirt; to surround.

   “skirted his loins and thighs with downy gold”

4. (figuratively)To avoid or ignore (something); to manage to avoid (something or a problem); to skate by (something).

   “Near-synonym: circumvent”

   “skirt the issue”

   “skirt the law”

   “He skirted the issue of which parties to attend by staying at home instead.”

   “To be clear: I’m not saying Katyal helped a large corporation skirt child slavery laws, I’m just saying that he is the sort of guy who is a typical Burning Man attendee these days: the establishment in a goofy hat.”