skinny
/ˈskɪni/adjective, noun, verb
skinny is spelled S-K-I-N-N-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 9.8 times per million words in written English, the 7,224th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, skinny means “Thin, generally in a negative sense (as opposed to slim, which is thin in a positive sense)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in skinny?
| Letters | 6: S-K-I-N-N-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 9.8 times per million words; the 7,224th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is skinny?
Skinny appears 9.8 times per million words in written English, the 7,224th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce skinny?
- /ˈskɪni/
Skinny has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-skinny.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of skinny
- skinnier comparative
- skinniest superlative
- skinnies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- skinnying participle, present
- skinnied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does skinny mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
informalThin, generally in a negative sense (as opposed to slim, which is thin in a positive sense).
Her recent weight loss has made her look rather skinny than slender
- 2
informalOf food or a beverage, having reduced fat or calories.
skinny flat white
- 3
Naked; nude (chiefly used in the phrase skinny dipping).
- 4
Tight-fitting.
skinny jeans
- 5
Synonym of thin (“type of shot where the ball is struck by the bottom part of the club head”).
noun
- 1
colloquialThe details or facts; especially, those obtained by gossip or rumor.
She called to get the skinny on the latest goings-on in the club.
- 2
A state of nakedness; nudity.
- 3
informalA low-fat serving of coffee.
- 4
nonstandardA skinny being.
- 5
An obstacle for a horse to jump over, consisting of a narrow fence.
verb
- 1
informalTo reduce or cut down.
Said one judge: "What is [Chapter 22] other than the process of skinnying the company down? Are there some inefficiencies in that? If so, they can be absorbed by the economy and the country."
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Skinny in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense thin:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | maigre, maigrichon, maigrelet |
| German | mager |
| Portuguese | magro |
| Spanish | flaco, enlapado, enjuto, güin, raquítico, fifiriche |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does skinny come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).