skins

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

The drums.

Register: slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

If I had my rathers I'd make up my own band. Art Blakey on the skins, Charlie Mingus on the bass, John Coltrane on the sax, Harry Edison on the horn-

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “skins” mean?

The drums.

Is “skins” formal or informal?

skins is generally slang.