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3 VERB If you skate , you move about wearing ice-skates or roller-skates. □ [V ] I actually skated, and despite some teetering I did not fall on the ice. □ [V adv/prep] Dan skated up to him. [Also V n] ●  skat|ing N‑UNCOUNT □  They all went skating together in the winter. ●  skat|er (skaters ) N‑COUNT □  West Lake, an outdoor ice-skating rink, attracts skaters during the day and night.

4 N‑COUNT A skate is a kind of flat sea fish. □  Boats had plenty of mackerel and a few skate. ● N‑UNCOUNT Skate is this fish eaten as food.

5 VERB If you skate over or round a difficult subject, you avoid discussing it. □ [V + over ] Scientists have tended to skate over the difficulties of explaining dreams. □ [V + round/around ] When pressed, he skates around the subject of those women who he met as a 19-year-old.

skate|board /ske I tbɔː ^r d/ (skateboards ) N‑COUNT A skateboard is a narrow board with wheels at each end, which people stand on and ride for pleasure.

skate|board|er /ske I tbɔː ^r də ^r / (skateboarders ) N‑COUNT A skateboarder is someone who rides on a skateboard.

skate|board|ing /ske I tbɔː ^r d I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT Skateboarding is the activity of riding on a skateboard.

skate|park /ske I tpɑː ^r k/ (skateparks ) N‑COUNT A skatepark is an area that is designed for people to practise skateboarding.

ska t|ing rink (skating rinks ) N‑COUNT A skating rink is the same as a rink .

skein /ske I n/ (skeins ) N‑COUNT A skein is a length of thread, especially wool or silk, wound loosely round on itself. □ [+ of ] …a skein of wool.

skel|etal /ske l I t ^ə l/

1 ADJ [ADJ n] Skeletal means relating to the bones in your body. □  …the skeletal remains of seven adults. □  …the skeletal system.

2 ADJ A skeletal person is so thin that you can see their bones through their skin. □  …a hospital filled with skeletal children.

3 ADJ Something that is skeletal has been reduced to its basic structure. □  Passenger services can best be described as skeletal.

skel|eton /ske l I t ^ə n/ (skeletons )

1 N‑COUNT Your skeleton is the framework of bones in your body. □  …a human skeleton.

2 ADJ [ADJ n] A skeleton staff is the smallest number of staff necessary in order to run an organization or service. □  Only a skeleton staff remains to show anyone interested around the site.

3 N‑COUNT The skeleton of something such as a building or a plan is its basic framework. □ [+ of ] Only skeletons of buildings remained.

4 PHRASE If you say that someone has a skeleton in the closet , or in British English a skeleton in the cupboard , you mean that they are keeping secret a bad or embarrassing fact about themselves. □  On accepting the job, Maya assured her employers that she had no skeletons in the cupboard.

ske l|eton key (skeleton keys ) N‑COUNT A skeleton key is a key which has been specially made so that it will open many different locks.

skep|tic /ske pt I k/ → see sceptic

skep|ti|cal /ske pt I k ^ə l/ → see sceptical

skep|ti|cism /ske pt I s I zəm/ → see scepticism

sketch /ske tʃ/ (sketches , sketching , sketched )

1 N‑COUNT A sketch is a drawing that is done quickly without a lot of details. Artists often use sketches as a preparation for a more detailed painting or drawing. □ [+ of ] …a sketch of a soldier by Orpen.

2 VERB If you sketch something, you make a quick, rough drawing of it. □ [V n] Clare and David Astor are sketching a view of far Spanish hills. □ [V ] I always sketch with pen and paper.