skitter
/ˈskɪtə(ɹ)/
"skitter" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“skitter” is an uncommon English word, ranked #92,084 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #92,084
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To move hurriedly or as by bouncing or twitching; to scamper, to scurry; to scuttle.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | skitter |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈskɪtə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #92,084 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “skitter” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for skitter is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈskɪtə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #92,084 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for skitter, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Possibly a frequentative of skite (“to move lightly and hurriedly; to move suddenly, particularly in an oblique direction”) (Scotland, Northern England). The noun is derived from the verb. The correct English form is skitter, spelled S-K-I-T-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1To move hurriedly or as by bouncing or twitching; to scamper, to scurry; to scuttle.
- 2To make a scratching or scuttling noise while, or as if, skittering.
- 3To move or pass (something) over a surface quickly so that it touches only at intervals; to skip, to skite.
Etymology
Possibly a frequentative of skite (“to move lightly and hurriedly; to move suddenly, particularly in an oblique direction”) (Scotland, Northern England). The noun is derived from the verb.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “skitter”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-K-I-T-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈskɪtə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.