skew

/skjuː/

//skjuː// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"skew" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“skew” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,725. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,725
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To form or shape in an oblique way; to cause to take an oblique position.

Corpus desk

Index EN-skew · skew · English

skew · rank #28,725 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,725
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sketching

Nearest frequency peer: sketching (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “skew”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “skew” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

skew vs SW
0% similar
skew vs sky
50% similar
skew vs sue
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for skew
PropertyValue
Headwordskew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/skjuː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#28,725
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “skew”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).skewlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “sketching” (#28,724), “skimming” (#28,726), “smitten” (#28,728). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “skew” is #28,725. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around skew (IPA /skjuː/), averb. Corpus frequency is #28,725 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for skew, with forms such as "ksew", "sekw", and "skeww". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "SW", "sky", "sue", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from Middle English skeuen, skewe, skewen (“to run at an angle or obliquely; to escape”), from Old Northern French escuer [and other forms], variants of Old French eschuer, eschever, eschiver (“to escape, flee; to avoid”) (modern French … The correct English form is skew, spelled S-K-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    To form or shape in an oblique way; to cause to take an oblique position.
  2. 2
    To form or shape in an oblique way; to cause to take an oblique position.
  3. 3
    To bias or distort in a particular direction.
  4. 4
    To hurl or throw.
  5. 5
    To move obliquely; to move sideways, to sidle; to lie obliquely.
  6. 6
    To jump back or sideways in fear or surprise; to shy, as a horse.
  7. 7
    To look at obliquely; to squint; hence, to look slightingly or suspiciously.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how skew appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. When making this joint it is important to see that the eccentric or crank is at dead-centre; if it is at the end or limit of its stroke, the rubber is skewed the full length of same; if it is at the centre, the skewing, which is the cause of wear, is halved.
  2. Thus asynchronous torques cannot be avoided but can be reduced by proper choice of coil span and by skewing the stator or rotor slots.

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English skeuen, skewe, skewen (“to run at an angle or obliquely; to escape”), from Old Northern French escuer [and other forms], variants of Old French eschuer, eschever, eschiver (“to escape, flee; to avoid”) (modern French esquiver (“to dodge (a blow), duck; to elude, evade; to slip away; to sidestep”)), from Frankish *skiuhan (“to dread; to avoid, shun”), from Proto-Germanic *skiuhijaną (“to frighten”). The English word is cognate with Catalan esquiu (“evasive, shy”), Danish skæv (“crooked, slanting; skew, wry”) (> Norwegian Bokmål skjev), Dutch scheef (“crooked, slanting”), Norwegian skeiv (“crooked, lopsided; oblique, slanting; distorted”), Saterland Frisian skeeuw (“aslant, slanting; oblique; awry”), and is a doublet of eschew. The adjective and adverb are probably derived from the verb and/or from askew, and the noun is derived from either the adjective or the verb.

This word in other languages

incliner(Français)verfälschen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ksew
  • sekw
  • skeww
  • skkew
  • skwe
  • sskew

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of skew - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ksew2sekw2skeww1skkew1skwe2sskew1
Edit distance from "skew"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "skew"?
"skew" is spelled S-K-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /skjuː/.
What does "skew" mean?
As a verb, "skew" means: To form or shape in an oblique way; to cause to take an oblique position.
What words are commonly confused with "skew"?
"skew" is commonly confused with "SW", "sky", "sue". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "skew"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "skew" is /skjuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "skew"?
The verb is derived from Middle English skeuen, skewe, skewen (“to run at an angle or obliquely; to escape”), from Old Northern French escuer [and other forms], variants of Old French eschuer, eschever, eschiver (“to escape, flee; to avoid”) (mode... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "skew", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

seer#28,713rune#28,704roux#28,702rhea#28,698

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Salam6 variantsRobby6 variantstitty6 variantsOates6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list