Skinny Meaning
/ˈskɪni/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjThin, generally in a negative sense (as opposed to slim, which is thin in a positive sense).
adjOf food or a beverage, having reduced fat or calories.
Sentence Examples
That man is skinny, but his wife is fat.
My sister's skinny and me, I'm chubby.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After months of not eating enough, the stray dog became dangerously ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The stray cat looked very ____ and hungry, so we decided to give it some food.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English skinny (“resembling skin”), equivalent to skin + -y. The meaning associated with lack of fat or muscle possibly derives from the phrase skin and bones; the meaning associated with nudity refers to the exposed skin.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"...into the skinny chocolate milk?"
— 1974, National Fruit & Syrup Manufacturers Assn, Dairy & ice cream field, Volume 157, Issues 1-6 (cooking), page 45:
"Also bring me three quarts of ‘skinny’ milk. What the matter, Mr. Kuziavka, have you just fallen from the moon?! Don't you know about ‘skinny’ milk? It's milk, from which the fat has been removed and..."
— 1982, Mykola Ponedilok, Funny tears: short stories (history), page 186:
"“All right,” said Katz, who, waiting on his skinny milk latte, turned to snap his fingers at the only waiter in the room."
— 2008, Sydney Bauer, Undertow (fiction), →ISBN, page 387:
"People always order a "skinny" margarita without knowing exactly what that means for the ingredients. Skinny means the cocktail has a natural sweetener like lime juice or agave nectar, and none of that slushy, syrupy sweet-and-sour mix."
— 2019, Fancy AF Cocktails:
"Let's take our clothes oft" and go swimming skinny."
— 1972, Robert Woodruff Anderson, Solitaire: Double solitaire, page 53:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After months of not eating enough, the stray dog became dangerously ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The stray cat looked very ____ and hungry, so we decided to give it some food.