skua

S1K5U1A1
/ˈskjuːə/

noun

Any of various predatory seabirds of the genus Stercorarius that often chase other seabirds to steal their catches.

Similar
jaegerbonxie
OriginFaroese skúgvur ← Old Norse skúfr →
UncommonScrabble 8
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounskua (plural skuas)

plural skuas

  1. Any of various predatory seabirds of the genus Stercorarius that often chase other seabirds to steal their catches.

    Synonyms: jaeger

verbskua (third-person singular simple present skuas, present participle skuaing, simple past and past participle skuaed)

present singular third person skuas · participle present skuaing · participle past skuaed · past skuaed

  1. slangtransitiveAntarcticaTo steal, or borrow without permission.

    We skua crew mess pastries and cheese, skua toe warmers, gloves. I skuaed her chocolate. Can't help it.

    2019, Elizabeth Bradfield, Toward Antarctica: An Exploration

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAny of various predatory seabirds of the genus Stercorarius that often chase other seabirds to steal their catches.

Similar
jaeger

More synonyms by meaning

noungull-like jaeger of northern seas

Similar
bonxie
Broader
jaeger
Also see
bonxiejaegerseahawk

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Norseskúfr
  2. Faroeseskúgvur“Great Skua”
  3. Englishskua

From Faroese skúgvur (“Great Skua”), from Old Norse skúfr, of unknown origin.

More words from Faroese, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic كَرْكَر
  • كَرْكَر (karkar)predatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Bulgarian гигантски морелетник
  • гигантски морелетник (gigantski moreletnik)predatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Czech chaluha
  • chaluhapredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Danish kjove
  • kjovepredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Dutch jager
  • jagerpredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Finnish kihu
  • kihupredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
French labbe
  • labbepredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
German Raubmöwe, Skua
  • Raubmöwepredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
  • Skuapredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Italian stercorario
  • stercorariopredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Latvian klijkaija
  • klijkaijapredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Lithuanian plėšikas
  • plėšikaspredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Māori hākoakoa
  • hākoakoapredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Norwegian Bokmål jo
  • jopredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Polish wydrzyk
  • wydrzykpredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Portuguese moleiro, mandrião
  • moleiropredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
  • mandriãopredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
  • estercoráriopredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Romanian lup de mare
  • lup de marepredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Russian помо́рник
  • помо́рник (pomórnik)predatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Scottish Gaelic fàsgadair, fàsgadan
  • fàsgadairpredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
  • fàsgadanpredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Slovak pomorník
  • pomorníkpredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Spanish págalo
  • págalopredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Swedish labb, kustlabb
  • labbpredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
  • kustlabbpredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae
Welsh sgiwen
  • sgiwenpredatory seabird of the family Stercorariidae

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

skewer (non-rhotic)skewer (non-rhotic)

Anagrams

SaukKausSakusukaAksuKasu
Cite this entry
APA

skua. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skua

MLA

“skua.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skua. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “skua,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skua.

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