# skinner

> English word · Noun · frequency rank #15,060

## Definitions
1. Someone who skins animals.
2. A hunting knife used for skinning animal carcasses.
3. A machine used for removing the skin from animal carcasses.
4. One who deals in skins, pelts, or hides.
5. A child sexual abuser.
6. An instance of skinning the lamb, i.e. a bookmaker winning all of his bets where nobody backed the winner.

## Etymology
From Middle English skynner, skinner, skynnere, schynnere, equivalent to skin + -er. Cognate with Old Norse skinnari (“skinner”), Old Swedish skinnare (“skinner”), Middle Low German schinder, schinner (“skinner”).

## Easily confused with
- **skinny** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skinner-vs-skinny)
- **skipper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skinner-vs-skipper)
- **spinner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skinner-vs-spinner)
- **stinger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skinner-vs-stinger)
- **stunner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skinner-vs-stunner)
- **swinger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skinner-vs-swinger)
- **spanner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skinner-vs-spanner)
- **skier** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skier-vs-skinner)
- **singer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/singer-vs-skinner)
- **sinner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sinner-vs-skinner)
- **signer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/signer-vs-skinner)
- **shiner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiner-vs-skinner)
- **sinker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sinker-vs-skinner)
- **scanner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scanner-vs-skinner)
- **skinned** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skinned-vs-skinner)

## Common misspellings (9)
`ksinner`, `siknner`, `skinenr`, `skiner`, `skinnerr`, `skinnre`, `skkinner`, `skniner`, `sskinner`

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