I. skirt 1 S3 /skɜːt $ skɜːrt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old Norse ; Origin: skyrta 'shirt' ]
1 . a piece of outer clothing worn by women and girls, which hangs down from the waist like the bottom part of a dress:
She wore a white blouse and a plain black skirt.
leather/pleated/cotton etc skirt
a green velvet skirt
short/long skirt
a short skirt and high heels
2 . ( also skirts [plural] ) old-fashioned the part of a dress or coat that hangs down from the waist
3 . the skirts of a forest/hill/village etc British English the outside edge of a forest etc SYN outskirts
4 . a bit of skirt British English informal not polite an offensive expression meaning an attractive woman
II. skirt 2 BrE AmE ( also skirt around/round ) verb [transitive]
1 . to go around the outside edge of a place or area:
The old footpath skirts around the village.
2 . to avoid talking about an important subject, especially because it is difficult or embarrassing – used to show disapproval:
a disappointing speech that skirted around all the main issues