skin Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a natural protective body covering and site of the sense of touch
    tegument; cutis.
    • your skin is the largest organ of your body
  2. noun an outer surface (usually thin)
    • the skin of an airplane
  3. noun body covering of a living animal
    pelt; hide.
  4. noun a person's skin regarded as their life
    • he tried to save his skin
  5. noun the rind of a fruit or vegetable
    peel.
  6. noun a bag serving as a container for liquids; it is made from the hide of an animal
  7. verb climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    shin; shinny; sputter; clamber; scramble; struggle.
  8. verb bruise, cut, or injure the skin or the surface of
    scrape.
    • The boy skinned his knee when he fell
  9. verb remove the bark of a tree
    bark.
  10. verb strip the skin off
    pare; peel.
    • pare apples

WordNet

Skin noun
Etymology
Icel. skinn; akin to Sw. skinn, Dan. skind, AS. scinn, G. schined to skin.
Definitions
  1. (Anat.) The external membranous integument of an animal. ✍ In man, and the vertebrates generally, the skin consist of two layers, an outer nonsensitive and nonvascular epidermis, cuticle, or skarfskin, composed of cells which are constantly growing and multiplying in the deeper, and being thrown off in the superficial, layers; and an inner sensitive, and vascular dermis, cutis, corium, or true skin, composed mostly of connective tissue.
  2. The hide of an animal, separated from the body, whether green, dry, or tanned; especially, that of a small animal, as a calf, sheep, or goat.
  3. A vessel made of skin, used for holding liquids. See Bottle, 1. "Skins of wine." Tennyson.
  4. The bark or husk of a plant or fruit; the exterior coat of fruits and plants.
  5. (Naut.) (a) That part of a sail, when furled, which remains on the outside and covers the whole. Totten. (b) The covering, as of planking or iron plates, outside the framing, forming the sides and bottom of a vessel; the shell; also, a lining inside the framing.
Skin transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Skinned ; present participle & verbal noun Skinning
Definitions
  1. To strip off the skin or hide of; to flay; to peel; as, to skin an animal.
  2. To cover with skin, or as with skin; hence, to cover superficially.
    It will but skin and film the ulcerous place. Shak.
  3. To strip of money or property; to cheat. Slang
Skin intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To become covered with skin; as, a wound skins over.
  2. To produce, in recitation, examination, etc., the work of another for one's own, or to use in such exercise cribs, memeoranda, etc., which are prohibited. College Cant, U.S.

Webster 1913