skint

/skɪnt/

//skɪnt// adj

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

"skint" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“skint” is uncommon English (frequency #58,367 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,367
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Penniless, poor, impecunious, broke.

Corpus desk

Index EN-skint · skint · English

skint · rank #58,367 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,367
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sinusitis

Nearest frequency peer: sinusitis (-2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “skint”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “skint” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for skint
PropertyValue
Headwordskint
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/skɪnt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#58,367
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “skint” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).skintfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “sinusitis” (#58,365), “signora” (#58,364), “smorgasbord” (#58,370). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “skint” is #58,367. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

skint is uncommon English at frequency #58,367 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /skɪnt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

skint has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: The "penniless" sense is attested since 1925 and is derived from a variant of skinned Note also the phrase skin a flint (“go to extreme lengths for the sake of gain or economy”), from the brittleness and hardness of flint which makes it almost impossible to… The correct English form is skint, spelled S-K-I-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Penniless, poor, impecunious, broke.
  2. 2
    skinned

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There were a mixture of local people with cold, pinched faces and skint and harassed looking tourists sitting around fondling their itchsome facial hair, their tongues lolling into fizzy yellow pints of lager.
  2. Mr Grave proceeded to give a stern warning to those “errant pupils” who, against the rules, had been smuggling their mobile phones into school. This was just about everyone, though Zoe was far too skint to even dream of ever owning one.

Etymology

The "penniless" sense is attested since 1925 and is derived from a variant of skinned Note also the phrase skin a flint (“go to extreme lengths for the sake of gain or economy”), from the brittleness and hardness of flint which makes it almost impossible to remove just its skin without shattering it.

This word in other languages

abgebrannt(Deutsch)

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 "skint"?
"skint" is spelled S-K-I-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /skɪnt/.
What does "skint" mean?
As an adjective, "skint" means: Penniless, poor, impecunious, broke.
How do you pronounce "skint"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "skint" is /skɪnt/. 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 "skint"?
The "penniless" sense is attested since 1925 and is derived from a variant of skinned Note also the phrase skin a flint (“go to extreme lengths for the sake of gain or economy”), from the brittleness and hardness of flint which makes it almost imp... 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 "skint", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shyly#58,363Shyam#58,362Suggs#58,394Sumer#58,395

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list