Meanings
plural skinterns
- USslangA female intern who wears very revealing clothing in an office setting where more conservative attire is the norm.
They're known as “skinterns.” Those who think "belly shirts" are career wear. If the devil wears Prada, the skinterns wear nada.
2006 July 5, “Showing off a bit of skin”, in The Washington Times3 more examples
"We were talking about this at dinner the other night, about how some interns show up in some of the skimpiest clothing," a female press secretary said. "One of the boys called them skinterns, which I thought was hilarious."
2005 June 22, “The bad rap of Capitol Hill interns”, in The HillThough “skinterns” do provide ample entertainment and a welcome distraction for many young staffers, the situation actually points to a disturbing reality lurking behind the heavy gilded doors of the Capitol: by appearing scantily-clad in their attire, women self-designate themselves into inferior roles and open themselves up to objectification.
2009 September 28, Shayna Murphy, “Scantily-clad interns give working girls a bad name”, in The Daily Collegian, University of Massachusetts AmherstMeanwhile, the barely there selection of a skintern might actually cause potential donors on the street to take a second look, and, possibly even open their wallets -- just hopefully not in expectation of sexual favors.
2010 July 15, Annie Werner, “Where the 'Skinterns' Should Work”, in Village Voice
Origin
Cite this entry
skintern. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skintern
“skintern.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skintern. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “skintern,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skintern.
Source: skintern on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.