# skewer

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈskjuː.ə/ · frequency rank #43,374

## Definitions
1. A long pin, normally made of metal or wood, used to secure food during cooking.
2. Food served on a skewer.
3. A scenario in which a piece attacks a more valuable piece which, if it moves aside, exposes a less valuable piece.

## Etymology
From Middle English skeuier, skuer, likely a variant of Middle English *skever, *skiver (compare Modern English skiver), probably of North Germanic origin, compare Icelandic skífa (“to slice”), Norwegian skive, Swedish skiva, Swedish skifer (“a slate”).

## Easily confused with
- **steer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skewer-vs-steer)
- **skier** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skewer-vs-skier)
- **sneer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skewer-vs-sneer)
- **speer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skewer-vs-speer)
- **slower** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skewer-vs-slower)
- **Skyler** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skewer-vs-skyler)
- **stewed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skewer-vs-stewed)
- **seer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seer-vs-skewer)
- **skew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skew-vs-skewer)
- **sheer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheer-vs-skewer)
- **sewer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sewer-vs-skewer)
- **sever** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sever-vs-skewer)
- **sewed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sewed-vs-skewer)
- **skeet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skeet-vs-skewer)
- **shower** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shower-vs-skewer)
- **seeker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seeker-vs-skewer)
- **skater** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skater-vs-skewer)
- **skewed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skewed-vs-skewer)

## Common misspellings (9)
`ksewer`, `sekwer`, `skeewr`, `skewerr`, `skewre`, `skewwer`, `skkewer`, `skweer`, `sskewer`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/skewer