skein

1 of 2

noun

ˈskān 

1

or less commonly skean or skeane

ˈskān 

: a loosely coiled length of yarn or thread wound on a reel

2

: something suggesting the twists or coils of a skein : tangle

3

: a flock of wildfowl (such as geese or ducks) in flight

skein

2 of 2

verb

skeined; skeining; skeins

transitive verb

: to wind into skeins

skein yarn

Examples of skein in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Metalpoint is delicate by comparison with ink, almost weblike; but in both cases, the drawings are unraveling clusters and skeins, with passages both tight and loose. — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

Its shop, housed in an 1890 schoolhouse, sells beautiful knitwear, jewelry, and home goods by the school’s students and instructors, plus skeins of yarn. — Charles Usher, Midwest Living, 26 May 2026

The skein of stock success has ended. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 May 2026

The food is rustic and cosmopolitan at once — bright, monumental salads, whole carrots and leeks baptized by fire, skeins of pasta, and Parmigiano snowing down — but the secret is the seeming effortlessness. — Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 11 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English skeyne, from Middle French (Picard) escagne, probably from Vulgar Latin *scamnia, from *scamniare to wind yarn, from *scamnium rack for holding bobbins, from Latin scamnum bench, stool — more at shambles

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1775, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for skein

• ane
• bane
• blain
• brain
• cane
• chaine
• cheyne
• deign
• drain
• fain
• fane
• feign

Kids Definition

skein

noun

ˈskān

: a looped length of yarn or thread put up in a loose twist after it is taken from the reel