"skid row" meaning in English

See skid row in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˌskɪd ˈɹəʊ/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˌskɪd ˈɹoʊ/ [General-American] Audio: En-us-skid row.oga [General-American] Forms: skid rows [plural]
Rhymes: -əʊ Etymology: An alteration of skid road (“road along which logs are dragged or skidded; (Canada, US, informal) downtown streets where loggers go for recreation on their time off”). In 1852, skid road was first applied to a slum area at the loggers’ part of town in Seattle, Washington, USA, and before 1900 it had come into common usage in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Over time, the variant skid row came to refer to a district or slum frequented by alcoholics and hobos, even in areas without a lumber industry. Etymology templates: {{m|en|skid road|t=road along which logs are dragged or skidded; (Canada, US, informal) downtown streets where loggers go for recreation on their time off}} skid road (“road along which logs are dragged or skidded; (Canada, US, informal) downtown streets where loggers go for recreation on their time off”) Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} skid row (countable and uncountable, plural skid rows)
  1. (derogatory) An especially dilapidated section of a city, characterized by abandoned or run-down buildings and vices such as drug dealing and prostitution, and frequented by homeless people. Tags: Canada, US, countable, derogatory, informal, uncountable Synonyms: favela, skid road, skidrow, Skid Row Related terms: hit the skids, on the skids, banlieue, ghetto, shanty town Translations (especially dilapidated section of a city): kriminaalne linnajagu (Estonian), slumm (Estonian), slummikortteli (Finnish), ghetto [masculine] (French), bidonville [masculine] (French), Armenviertel [neuter] (German), heruntergekommenes Viertel [neuter] (German), barrios bajos [masculine, plural] (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-skid_row-en-noun-UpJhn-Xi Categories (other): American English, Canadian English, English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of American English: 70 30 Disambiguation of Canadian English: 87 13 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 89 11 Disambiguation of 'especially dilapidated section of a city': 100 0
  2. (figuratively) A situation of great desperation or misfortune. Tags: Canada, US, countable, figuratively, informal, uncountable
    Sense id: en-skid_row-en-noun-Bt7gFNUu

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for skid row meaning in English (4.9kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "skid road",
        "t": "road along which logs are dragged or skidded; (Canada, US, informal) downtown streets where loggers go for recreation on their time off"
      },
      "expansion": "skid road (“road along which logs are dragged or skidded; (Canada, US, informal) downtown streets where loggers go for recreation on their time off”)",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "An alteration of skid road (“road along which logs are dragged or skidded; (Canada, US, informal) downtown streets where loggers go for recreation on their time off”). In 1852, skid road was first applied to a slum area at the loggers’ part of town in Seattle, Washington, USA, and before 1900 it had come into common usage in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Over time, the variant skid row came to refer to a district or slum frequented by alcoholics and hobos, even in areas without a lumber industry.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "skid rows",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
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      "expansion": "skid row (countable and uncountable, plural skid rows)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "70 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Canadian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "89 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
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        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An especially dilapidated section of a city, characterized by abandoned or run-down buildings and vices such as drug dealing and prostitution, and frequented by homeless people."
      ],
      "id": "en-skid_row-en-noun-UpJhn-Xi",
      "links": [
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        ],
        [
          "especially",
          "especially"
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        [
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        ],
        [
          "section",
          "section#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "city",
          "city"
        ],
        [
          "characterize",
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        ],
        [
          "abandoned",
          "abandoned#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "run-down",
          "run-down"
        ],
        [
          "buildings",
          "building#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "vices",
          "vice#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "drug",
          "drug#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "dealing",
          "dealing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "prostitution",
          "prostitution"
        ],
        [
          "frequented",
          "frequent#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "homeless",
          "homeless"
        ],
        [
          "people",
          "person#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(derogatory) An especially dilapidated section of a city, characterized by abandoned or run-down buildings and vices such as drug dealing and prostitution, and frequented by homeless people."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "word": "hit the skids"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "word": "on the skids"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "word": "banlieue"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "word": "ghetto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "word": "shanty town"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "favela"
        },
        {
          "word": "skid road"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "word": "skidrow"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "word": "Skid Row"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "US",
        "countable",
        "derogatory",
        "informal",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
          "word": "kriminaalne linnajagu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
          "word": "slumm"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
          "word": "slummikortteli"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ghetto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "bidonville"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Armenviertel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "heruntergekommenes Viertel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
          "tags": [
            "masculine",
            "plural"
          ],
          "word": "barrios bajos"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A situation of great desperation or misfortune."
      ],
      "id": "en-skid_row-en-noun-Bt7gFNUu",
      "links": [
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          "situation",
          "situation"
        ],
        [
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        ],
        [
          "desperation",
          "desperation"
        ],
        [
          "misfortune",
          "misfortune"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) A situation of great desperation or misfortune."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "US",
        "countable",
        "figuratively",
        "informal",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌskɪd ˈɹəʊ/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌskɪd ˈɹoʊ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-əʊ"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-skid row.oga",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/6b/En-us-skid_row.oga/En-us-skid_row.oga.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/En-us-skid_row.oga",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Oxford University Press"
  ],
  "word": "skid row"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "American English",
    "Canadian English",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English informal terms",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Rhymes:English/əʊ",
    "Rhymes:English/əʊ/2 syllables"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "skid road",
        "t": "road along which logs are dragged or skidded; (Canada, US, informal) downtown streets where loggers go for recreation on their time off"
      },
      "expansion": "skid road (“road along which logs are dragged or skidded; (Canada, US, informal) downtown streets where loggers go for recreation on their time off”)",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "An alteration of skid road (“road along which logs are dragged or skidded; (Canada, US, informal) downtown streets where loggers go for recreation on their time off”). In 1852, skid road was first applied to a slum area at the loggers’ part of town in Seattle, Washington, USA, and before 1900 it had come into common usage in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Over time, the variant skid row came to refer to a district or slum frequented by alcoholics and hobos, even in areas without a lumber industry.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "skid rows",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
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      "expansion": "skid row (countable and uncountable, plural skid rows)",
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    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "hit the skids"
    },
    {
      "word": "on the skids"
    },
    {
      "word": "banlieue"
    },
    {
      "word": "ghetto"
    },
    {
      "word": "shanty town"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English derogatory terms"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An especially dilapidated section of a city, characterized by abandoned or run-down buildings and vices such as drug dealing and prostitution, and frequented by homeless people."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
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        [
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        ],
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          "abandoned",
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        ],
        [
          "run-down",
          "run-down"
        ],
        [
          "buildings",
          "building#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "vices",
          "vice#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "drug",
          "drug#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "dealing",
          "dealing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "prostitution",
          "prostitution"
        ],
        [
          "frequented",
          "frequent#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "homeless",
          "homeless"
        ],
        [
          "people",
          "person#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(derogatory) An especially dilapidated section of a city, characterized by abandoned or run-down buildings and vices such as drug dealing and prostitution, and frequented by homeless people."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "favela"
        },
        {
          "word": "skid road"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "US",
        "countable",
        "derogatory",
        "informal",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A situation of great desperation or misfortune."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "situation",
          "situation"
        ],
        [
          "great",
          "great#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "desperation",
          "desperation"
        ],
        [
          "misfortune",
          "misfortune"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) A situation of great desperation or misfortune."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "US",
        "countable",
        "figuratively",
        "informal",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌskɪd ˈɹəʊ/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌskɪd ˈɹoʊ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-əʊ"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-skid row.oga",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/6b/En-us-skid_row.oga/En-us-skid_row.oga.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/En-us-skid_row.oga",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "skidrow"
    },
    {
      "word": "Skid Row"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
      "word": "kriminaalne linnajagu"
    },
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
      "word": "slumm"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
      "word": "slummikortteli"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ghetto"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "bidonville"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Armenviertel"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "heruntergekommenes Viertel"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "especially dilapidated section of a city",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "barrios bajos"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Oxford University Press"
  ],
  "word": "skid row"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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