skin in the game

noun

"skin-in-the-game" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“skin in the game” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A stake; something at risk, especially with regard to money and investments.

Corpus desk

Index EN-skin-in-the-game · skin in the game · English

skin in the game · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 16 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for skin in the game
PropertyValue
Headwordskin in the game
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “skin in the game” in English

skin in the gamesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

skin in the game is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A stake; something at risk, especially with regard to money and investments.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for skin in the game, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Attributed by some to Warren Buffett, but Buffett has denied this. The correct English form is skin in the game, spelled S-K-I-N- -I-N- -T-H-E- -G-A-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A stake; something at risk, especially with regard to money and investments.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Companies must obtain accountability across all business functions if they are to harvest the fruits of technology. "Let everyone have skin in the game", Rogow said.
  2. Says Bergsma: "We were flooded with financial types who didn't have their own skin in the game"

Etymology

Attributed by some to Warren Buffett, but Buffett has denied this.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "skin in the game"?
"skin in the game" is spelled S-K-I-N- -I-N- -T-H-E- -G-A-M-E.
What does "skin in the game" mean?
As a noun, "skin in the game" means: A stake; something at risk, especially with regard to money and investments.
What is the origin of the word "skin in the game"?
Attributed by some to Warren Buffett, but Buffett has denied this. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list