skell

S1K5E1L1L1

noun

a homeless person, especially one who sleeps in the New York subway.

“She went skelling over on the ice.”

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Meanings

skell1

nounskell (plural skells)

plural skells · alternative skel

  1. New YorkUSslanga homeless person, especially one who sleeps in the New York subway.

    Did you see those two skells lying in the doorway?

  2. New YorkUSjargonslanglaw enforcementA male suspicious person or crime suspect, especially a street person such as a drug dealer, pimp or panhandler.

skell2

verbskell (third-person singular simple present skells, present participle skelling, simple past and past participle skelled)

present singular third person skells · participle present skelling · participle past skelled · past skelled

  1. intransitiveslangTo fall off or fall over.

    She went skelling over on the ice.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
vagabond

Origin

* Perhaps from skeleton, describing the often skeletal appearance of drug users. * Alternatively, from skellum or skelder ("to beg in the streets"). Used by Ben Jonson, 1599. * In the sense of a suspicious person, popularized by the American TV police drama NYPD Blue.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with skell

wellhotellsellcelltelleldelpersonneldellNFLshellfellexcelMichellegeldlmotelspellsmellrebelbellemelmichel
All rhymes →

Anagrams

kells
Cite this entry
APA

skell. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skell

MLA

“skell.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skell. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “skell,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skell.

Source: skell on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.