I. skin 1 S2 W2 /skɪn/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old Norse ; Origin: skinn ]
1 . BODY [uncountable and countable] the natural outer layer of a person’s or animal’s body:
She had thick black hair and smooth dark skin.
The skin on his hands was dry and rough.
⇨ ↑ skincare
2 . FROM AN ANIMAL [uncountable and countable] the skin of an animal, sometimes including its fur, used to make leather, clothes etc:
a leopard skin
3 .
FOOD [uncountable and countable]
a) the natural outer cover of some fruits and vegetables SYN peel :
banana skins
b) the outer cover of a ↑ sausage
4 . ON A LIQUID [uncountable and countable] a thin solid layer that forms on the top of a liquid, especially when it gets cold:
Cover the soup to stop a skin from forming.
5 . PART OF AN OBJECT [countable] a layer that is part of a vehicle, building, object etc, especially on the outside:
The outer skin of the aircraft was not punctured.
The lampshade has a double skin so that it remains cool.
6 . COMPUTER [uncountable and countable] the way particular information appears on a computer screen, especially when this can be changed quickly and easily
7 . have (a) thin/thick skin to be easily upset or not easily upset by criticism:
This is not a job for someone with thin skin.
8 . get under sb’s skin informal if someone gets under your skin, they annoy you, especially by the way they behave:
What really gets under my skin is people who push straight to the front of the line.
9 . by the skin of your teeth informal if you do something by the skin of your teeth, you only just succeed in doing it, and very nearly failed to do it:
Two others made it by the skin of their teeth.
10 . make sb’s skin crawl informal to make someone feel very uncomfortable or slightly afraid:
Her singing makes my skin crawl.
11 . be skin and bone British English be skin and bones American English informal to be extremely thin in a way that is unattractive and unhealthy
12 . it’s no skin off sb’s nose spoken used to say that someone does not care what another person thinks or does, because it does not affect them:
If she doesn’t want me to help, it’s no skin off my nose!
13 . something is only skin deep used to say that something may seem to be important or effective, but it really is not because it only affects the way things appear:
Beauty is only skin deep.
14 . skins [plural] British English informal papers for rolling a cigarette, especially one with ↑ marijuana in it
⇨ save sb’s skin at ↑ save 1 (11), ⇨ jump out of your skin at ↑ jump 1 (4)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ fair/pale/white
I have fair skin that burns very easily.
▪ dark/brown/black
a girl with beautiful dark skin
▪ olive (=the colour typical of people from Greece, Italy etc)
a boy with dark eyes and olive skin
▪ tanned
His skin was slightly tanned.
▪ smooth/soft
Her skin was smooth and pale.
▪ beautiful
She had beautiful brown skin.
▪ good/healthy/clear (=smooth and without any red spots)
Vitamin E helps keep your skin healthy.
▪ bad/terrible (=with many spots or marks)
I had terrible skin when I was a teenager.
|
My skin’s really bad at the moment.
▪ flawless (=perfect, with no spots or marks)
The girls all had perfect features and flawless skin.
▪ dry
A lot of women suffer from dry skin.
▪ oily
My skin has a tendency to be oily.
▪ sensitive (=becoming red or sore easily)
Special shampoos are available for those with sensitive skin.
▪ itchy (=making you want to scratch)
The cream made my skin feel itchy.
▪ rough (=not smooth or soft)
The skin on his hands was rough and dry.
▪ leathery (=thick and dry)
a lean man with leathery skin and sea-blue eyes
▪ wrinkled (=covered in lines because of age)
an old lady with wrinkled skin
▪ scaly (=hard and dry, like the skin on animals such as lizards)
The crocodile’s scaly skin is ideally suited to its way of life.
■ verbs
▪ burn/damage your skin
Strong sunlight can damage your skin.
▪ break the skin (=make a hole in it)
Luckily the skin wasn't broken.
▪ protect your skin
It's important to use suntan lotion to protect your skin.
▪ irritate your skin (=make it red or sore)
Some types of make-up can irritate your skin.
▪ soothe your skin (=to stop it feeling painful or uncomfortable )
The lotion helps to soothe your skin after you've been in the sun all day.
▪ your skin glows/shines (=it looks healthy)
beauty products that will make your skin glow
▪ your skin peels (=the top layer comes off after you have had a sun tan )
The week after the holiday my skin was already starting to peel.
▪ your skin sags (=it hangs down in loose folds, because you are old)
The skin on her arms was already starting to sag.
■ skin + NOUN
▪ skin colour ( also the colour of your skin )
There is still discrimination on the basis of skin colour.
▪ skin tone (=how light or dark someone’s skin is)
Do the colours of your clothes enhance your skin tone?
▪ a skin condition/complaint/disease
She suffers from a nasty skin condition.
▪ skin irritation
A lot of chemicals can cause skin irritation.
▪ a skin rash
Skin rashes are common among children.
▪ skin cancer
Too much exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer.
II. skin 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle skinned , present participle skinning ) [transitive]
1 . to remove the skin from an animal, fruit, or vegetable ⇨ peel :
Add the tomatoes, skinned and sliced.
2 . to hurt yourself by rubbing off some skin SYN graze :
She fell and skinned her knee.
3 . skin somebody alive to punish someone very severely – used humorously:
Dad will skin you alive when he sees this place!
4 . informal to completely defeat someone SYN hammer :
The football team really skinned Watertown last year.
5 . there's more than one way to skin a cat used to say that there are several ways of achieving something
skin up phrasal verb British English informal
to make a cigarette with ↑ marijuana in it