Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
skint

skint

1 9.9
Having little or no money
  • adjective
  • /skɪnt/
  • Slang
translation icon : sin dinero
  • Since losing my job, I've been skint and need to watch my spending.

Yeah, I was, I was, I was skint back then.

Examples

  • I'm skint, and you still owe me some money.

    Control (2007)

  • Your treat though, because I'm skint.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • But after I pay rent and my season ticket, I'm skint.

    This Is Christmas (2022)

  • What do you mean you're skint?

    Death at a Funeral (2007)

  • What you're really saying is that, at present, you're skint.

    Sleuth (1972)

  • I'm absolutely skint.

    Johnny Was (2006)

  • If you got money, it's bearable, but if you're skint, you're trapped.

    Three and Out (2008)

  • I can't, I'm skint.

    Max (2002)

  • After paying all my bills, I found myself skint until payday.

  • He's been skint for weeks and can't afford to go out with us.

Synonyms

broke
vsskint
  • Informal
237 1.8

Having no money

is a casual word that also covers having very little money
penniless
vsskint
24 4.3

Having no money

is more informal and can mean having only a little money
stone-broke
vsskint
  • Informal
1 8.6

Having no money at all

is less absolute and can include having very little money
bust
vsskint
  • Informal
1 5.4

Having no money to spend

refers more generally to having little or no money
stony-broke
vsskint
  • Informal
1 9.3

With no money at all

is milder and may simply mean being short of cash
pinched
vsskint
6.5

A person who has little money to pay basic costs

can mean having little money but not always unable to meet basics
poor as a rat
vsskint
  • Informal
8.3

Having almost no money or things

is milder, meaning short of money rather than extreme poverty

Antonyms

wealthy
520 2.5

Having a lot of money and many expensive things

prosperous
83 4.1

Doing well and having a lot of money

affluent
1 6.0

A person who has a lot of money

How Poor

destitute
20 6.5
skint
  • Slang
1 9.9
comfortable
107 2.9
well-off
33 3.4

Surface Forms

skint positive

Morphology

skint = skin (opaque) = skin + t

Although formally formed from 'skin' + the past-participial '-t', the slang meaning 'having no money' is a figurative shift not predictable from 'skin'.

Etymology

Skint probably comes from the idea of being 'skinned', from the simple word skin. A helpful way to remember it is to imagine being 'skinned' of money, which is why skint means having little or no money.