cross section of human skin
A. melanocyte
B. muscle
C. sebaceous gland
D. hair shaft
E. epidermis
F. dermis
G. subcutaneous tissue
H. fat
I. artery
J. sweat gland
K. hair follicle
L. Pacinian corpuscle
skin
(skn)1. The membranous tissue forming the external covering or integument of an animal and consisting in vertebrates of the epidermis and dermis.
2. An animal pelt, especially the comparatively pliable pelt of a small or young animal: a tent made of goat skins.
a. A usually thin, closely adhering outer layer: the skin of a peach; a sausage skin; the skin of an aircraft.
b. A thin, close-fitting, usually elastic garment, especially a shirt, worn by scuba divers and others who engage in water sports for protection against scrapes and other superficial injuries.
4. A container for liquids that is made of animal skin.
5. Music A drumhead.
6. One of a pair of strips of fabric or other material temporarily applied to the undersides of a pair of skis to provide traction while ascending slopes.
7. Computers A design layout for the interface of a program such as a media player or instant messaging application that a user can select and often customize in order to alter the default appearance.
8. Informal One's life or physical survival: They lied to save their skins.
v. skinned, skin·ning, skins
1. To remove skin from: skinned and gutted the rabbit.
2. To bruise, cut, or injure the skin or surface of: She skinned her knee.
3. To remove (an outer covering); peel off: skin off the thin bark.
4. To cover with a skin or a similar layer: skin the framework of a canoe.
5. Slang To fleece; swindle.
1. To become covered with skin or a similar layer: In January the pond skins over with ice.
2. To pass with little room to spare: We barely skinned by.
Of, relating to, or depicting pornography: skin magazines.
By the smallest margin.
1. To irritate or stimulate; provoke.
2. To preoccupy someone; become an obsession.
1. To be slow to take offense.
2. To be insensitive to the needs or concerns of others.
To cause one to be afraid or disgusted.
Beneath the surface; fundamentally: enemies who are really brothers under the skin.
skin
(skn)a. the tissue forming the outer covering of the vertebrate body: it consists of two layers (the dermis and epidermis), the outermost of which may be covered with hair, scales, feathers, etc. It is mainly protective and sensory in function
2. a person's complexion: a fair skin.
3. (Biology) any similar covering in a plant or lower animal
4. any coating or film, such as one that forms on the surface of a liquid
6. (Tanning) the outer covering of a fur-bearing animal, dressed and finished with the hair on
7. a container made from animal skin
8. (Aeronautics) the outer covering surface of a vessel, rocket, etc
9. a person's skin regarded as his life: to save one's skin.
10. (Instruments) (often plural) (in jazz or pop use) a drum
12. (Recreational Drugs) a cigarette paper used for rolling a cannabis cigarette
13. Irish a person; sort: he's a good old skin.
14. by the skin of one's teeth by a narrow margin; only just
15. get under one's skin to irritate one
16. jump out of one's skin to be very startled
17. no skin off one's nose not a matter that affects one adversely
18. skin and bone extremely thin
19. thick skin an insensitive nature
20. thin skin a sensitive nature
21. (tr) to remove the outer covering from (fruit, etc)
22. (Pathology) (tr) to scrape a small piece of skin from (a part of oneself) in falling, etc: he skinned his knee.
23. (often foll by over) to cover (something) with skin or a skinlike substance or (of something) to become covered in this way
24. (tr) to strip of money; swindle
25. relating to or for the skin: skin cream.
26. US involving or depicting nudity: skin magazines.
[Old English scinn, from Old Norse skinn]
skinless adj skinlike adjskin
(skn)n., v. skinned, skinning,
adj. n.
1. the external covering or integument of an animal body, esp. when soft and flexible.
2. such an integument stripped from the body of an animal, esp. a small animal; pelt: a beaver skin.
3. the tanned or treated hide of an animal; leather (usu. used in combination): calfskin.
4. any integumentary covering, casing, outer coating, or surface layer, as an investing membrane, the rind of fruit, or a film on liquid.
5. a casing, as of metal or plastic, around an object: the skin of a computer monitor.
6. a container made of animal skin, used for holding liquids, esp. wine.
7. skins, Slang. drums.
8. Slang. a dollar bill.
v.t.9. to strip or deprive of skin; flay; peel; husk.
10. to remove or strip off (any covering, surface layer, etc.).
11. to scrape or rub a small piece of skin from (a part of the body), as in falling.
12. to urge on, drive, or whip (a draft animal, as a mule or ox).
13. to climb or jump: to skin a wall with one leap.
14. to cover with or as if with skin.
15. to strip of money or belongings; fleece, as in gambling.
adj.a. showing or featuring nude persons, often in a sexually explicit way: a skin magazine.
b. presenting films, shows, etc., that feature nude persons, esp. in a sexually explicit way: a notorious skin house.
1. by the skin of one's teeth, by an extremely narrow margin; just barely.
a. to irritate; bother.
b. to affect deeply; impress.
3. have a thick (or thin) skin, to be remarkably insensitive (or sensitive), esp. to criticism.
[11501200; Middle English (n.) < Old Norse skinn, akin to Middle Low German schinden to flay, peel, Old High German scindan]
skin
(skn)The outer covering of a vertebrate animal, consisting of two layers of cells, a thick inner layer (called the dermis) and a thin outer layer (called the epidermis). Structures such as hair, scales, or feathers are contained in the skin, as are fat cells, sweat glands, and sense organs (called skin receptors). Skin provides a protective barrier against disease-causing microorganisms and against the sun's ultraviolet rays. In warm-blooded animals, it helps maintain stable body temperatures by providing insulation or by increasing blood flow to the surface, which rids the body of excess heat.
Skin
absence of pigmentation in the skin.
Medicine. a congenital absence of pigment in the skin, hair, and eyes, ranging in scope from partial to total. Also albinoism. Cf. melanism. albino, n. albinotic, adj.
the surgical process of removing the outer layer of the skin, as for cosmetic purposes in the removal of acne scars, etc.
neuralgia of the skin.
1. the patterns of ridges of skin on the fingers and palm and the bottoms of the feet.
2. the study dealing with these patterns. dermatoglyphic, adj.
Medicine. a condition in which lightly touching or scratching the skin causes raised, reddish marks. Also dermatographia, dermographia, dermographism. dermatographic, adj.
Anatomy. a description of the skin. dermatographic, adj.
the branch of medicine that studies the skin and its diseases. dermatologist, n. dermatological, adj.
an abnormal fear of skin disease. Also dermatosiophobia, dermatopathophobia.
any form of plastic surgery of the skin, as skin grafts.
dermatographism.
the raising of the hairs on the skin as a response to cold or fear; goose bumps or goose pimples.
a darkening of the skin caused by an unusually high amount of pigmentation.
abnormal thickening of the skin. Cf. pachymenia. pachydermic, adj.
thickening of the skin or of a membrane. Cf. pachydermia. pachymenic, adj.
a mania for picking at growths.
the treatment of disease, especially diseases of the skin, with light rays. phototherapeutic, adj.
the state or quality of being wrinkled, as the skin. rugose, adj.
a person with light-colored hair and fair complexion. xantho-chroid, xanthochroous, adj.
Skin
See Also: BALDNESS, COMPLEXION, FACIAL COLOR, FACIAL DETAILS, PALLOR, WRINKLES
- The blue of her veins on her breasts, under the clear white skin, like some gorgeous secret Joe Coomer
- Each summer his skin becomes like brown velvet John Rechy
- Flesh as chill as that of a mermaid Angela Carter
- The flesh drooping like wattles beneath the jawbone Nina Bawden
- (Miss Quiggs) flesh looks as if its been steeping in brine for years Sharon Sheehe Stark
- Flesh luminous as though coated with milk Cynthia Ozick
- Flesh soft and boneless as apple pulp Margaret Millar
- Flesh was as firm and clean as wood Kay Boyle
- Flesh, white as the moon Charles Johnson
- Freckles all over like a speckled egg Phyllis Naylor
- Grained like wood (where the sweat had trickled) Willa Cather
- Hairless as a statue Harvey Swados
- Hands and forehead were deeply spotted like a seagulls egg Frank Tuohy
- Her skin cracked like skim milk Arthur Miller
- Her skin felt like plaster of Paris Nancy Huddleston Packer
- Her skin had a startlingly fine texture, like flour when you dip your hand into it John Updike
- Her skin had the bad, stretched look of the white cotton hand towels they give you in poor hotels Maeve Brennan
- Her skin was as pink as sugar icing Georges Simenon
The simile underscores Simenons characterization of a woman like a bonbon.
See Also: PINK
- Her skin was the color of smoked honey R. V. Cassill
- Her toadstool skin drapes her bones like cloth worn thin William Hoffman
The simile is taken from a scene in a short story describing a dying woman.
- His skin hung on his bones like an old suit much too large for him W. Somerset Maugham
- His skin is pale and looks unwholesomely tender, like the skin under a scab Margaret Atwood
- His skin was tea-colored, like a farm boys Ella Leffland
- My skin hangs about me like an old ladys loose gown William Shakespeare
- Pimpled like a brand-new basketball M. Garrett Bauman
The skin described in Baumans short story Out from Narragansett belongs to a blowfish.
- She had pale skin with the kind of texture that looked as if a pinch would crumble it Jonathan Kellerman
- Skin brown as a saddle Linda West Eckhardt
See Also: BROWN
- (The waitress has) skin dark as garden earth Leslie Garis, New York Times Magazine, February 8, 1987
See Also: DARKNESS
- Skin (slack, sallow and) draped like upholstery fabric over her short, boardlike bones Louise Erdrich
- Skin felt like a series of damp veils, like the wet paper you fold over the wires when you are making papier-mâche Elizabeth Tallent
- Skin felt like rawhide which hasnt been soaked Niven Busch
- Skin flushed as if by a fresh breeze Franz Werfel
- Skin freckled like a mango leaf Derek Walcott
- Skin, freckled like a lawn full of clover Rosellen Brown
- Skin glowed like a golden peach Lillian de la Torre
- Skin gray and rough like dirty milk Heinrich Böll
- Skin hard and leathery as though you could strike a kitchen match on it Pat Conroy
- Skin, hairless and white as bird droppings Harvey Swados
- Skin [when youre old and thin] hangs like trousers on a circus elephant Penelope Gilliatt
- The skin hung from her bones like a quilt on the line Suzanne Brown
- Skin like a babys behind François Camoin
- (One of those lovely, ageless women, with) skin like an Oil of Olay ad Tony Ardizzone
- Skin like an overwashed towel Jean Thompson
- Skin like dark flames Margaret Atwood
- Skin like flan Scott Spencer
- Skin like ice cream, like toasted-almond ice cream T. Coraghessan Boyle
- Skin like polished stone Richard Wilbur
- (He was pale, his) skin like sausage casing Paul Theroux
- Skin like shells and peaches M. J. Farrell
- Skin like silk Arabian Nights
- Skin like the skin of fruit protected by shade Paul Horgan
- Skin like the underpetals of newly-opened June rosebuds Cornell Woolrich
- Skin like wax paper Frank Tuohy
- Skin like wood Elizabeth Harris
- The skin merely hung at her neck like a patient animal waiting for the rest of her to join in the decline Max Apple
- The skin of her neck was like a piece of chamois leather that had been wrung out and left to dry in brownish, uncomfortable, awkward folds H. E. Bates
- Skin pale as a snowdrop Jaroslav Seifert
This is both the first line and title of a poem.
- Skin pale as glossy paper Geoffrey Wolff
- Skin [around neck] sagging like a turkeys John Braine
- Skin seemed as sheer as rubber, pulled over her hands like surgical gloves Sue Grafton
- Skin shines in dull gray translucence, like wax Ira Wood
- Skin shines like polished mahogany R. Wright Campbell
- Skin smelled like fresh cotton John Updike
- Skin smooth, as if dampened and then stretched on his skull Wright Morris
- Skin smooth as Pratesi sheets eyes that shimmer like Baccarat at the bottom of a Bel Air hot tub earrings sparkling like all the chandeliers at Lincoln Center, in Malcolm Forbes yacht and maybe even in all of Donald Trumps Tower Stephanie Mansfield, Washington Post, June 21, 1986
Mansfields string of similes sets the mood for a profile of Judith Krantz, renowned for her best sellers about glamorous people.
- Skin soft and flabby as used elastic Jean Rhys
- Skin so unwholesomely deficient in the natural tinge, that he looked as though, if he were cut, he would bleed white Charles Dickens
- Skin stretched over his bones like a piece of old shining oilcloth Dominique Lapierre
- Skin stretched tight like a rubber ball Margaret Atwood
- Skin supple and moist like fine leather that had been expertly treated Elizabeth Spencer
- Skin, the color of creamed tea W. P. Kinsella
- Skin the color of ripe grapefruit T. Coraghessan Boyle
- Skin the texture like the pit of a peach Stanley Elkin
- Skin tight and rugged as a mountain climbers Ward Just
- The skin under the eyes was gray, as though she had stayed up every night since puberty Ella Leffland
- Skin [a babys] was delicious to touch, fine-grained and blemishless, like silk without the worminess John Updike
- Skin was pale and drawn, her bones lay like shadows under it William H. Gass
- Skin was reddish brown like that of an overbaked apple Jerzy Kosinski
- Skin [of bald scalp] was sunburned, and ridged like dried leather Cornell Woolrich
- Skin weathering toward sunset like cracked glaze on porcelain Dick Francis
- The startling whiteness of her skin, lush and vulnerable, was like the petal of a gardenia Kaatje Hurlbut
- The texture of her skin was round and hard like the rind of winter fruit Ellen Glasgow
- The texture of his skin, like coffee grounds Charles Johnson
- White skin that looks like thin paper John Cheever
skin
- The term for the thin, tight covering on carrots, potatoes, grapes, and peachesbut also the thicker covering of bananas and avocados.skin
Past participle: skinned
Gerund: skinning
skin
2. To remove the skin from food.
Jim told me to chop off the snake's head and throw it away, and then skin the body and roast a piece of it.
Skin | definition of skin by Medical dictionary
skin [skin] the outer covering of the body. The skin is the largest organ of the body, and it performs a number of vital functions. It serves as a protective barrier
Skin | Define Skin at Dictionary.com
noun 1. the external covering or integument of an animal body, especially when soft and flexible. 2. such an integument stripped from the body of an animal
Skin | Definition of skin by Merriam-Webster
Definition of SKIN: devoted to showing nudes
Skin lotion - definition of Skin lotion by The Free Dictionary
lo·tion (lshn) n. A protective or restorative liquid or cream applied to the skin. [Middle English locion, from Old French lotion, from Latin lti
skin - definition of skin in English from the Oxford ...
More example sentences Typical teen problems like zits had not touched his flawless pale skin. His lightly muscled tanned bare skin glistened in the sun and he felt
Skin malignancies | definition of ... - Medical Dictionary
skin cancer, a cutaneous neoplasm caused by ionizing radiation; certain genetic defects; chemical carcinogens, including arsenics, petroleum, tar products, and fumes
Skin care legal definition of skin ... - TheFreeDictionary.com
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skin-tight Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
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skin definition and synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary
Define skin and get synonyms. What is skin? skin meaning, pronunciation and more by Macmillan Dictionary