skua
/ˈskjuːə/noun, verb
skua is spelled S-K-U-A: 4 letters. It appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 114,361st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, skua means “Any of various predatory seabirds of the genus Stercorarius that often chase other seabirds to steal their catches” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of skua is skuas.
How many letters and syllables are in skua?
| Letters | 4: S-K-U-A |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 14 million words; the 114,361st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is skua?
Skua appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 114,361st 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 skua?
- /ˈskjuːə/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-skua.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with skua
Sounds like: skewer (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of skua
- skuas plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- skuaing participle, present
- skuaed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does skua mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of various predatory seabirds of the genus Stercorarius that often chase other seabirds to steal their catches.
verb
- 1
slangTo steal, or borrow without permission.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Skua in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense predatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae:
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 skua come from?
From Faroese skúgvur (“Great Skua”), from Old Norse skúfr, of unknown origin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).