skinner

[skin-er] /ˈskɪn ər/
noun
1.
a person or thing that skins.
2.
a person who prepares or deals in skins or hides.
3.
a person who drives draft animals, as mules or oxen.
4.
the operator of a piece of heavy equipment used in clearing land or in construction work, as a tractor or bulldozer.
5.
any of a band of irregular cavalry operating in the neutral ground of Westchester County, New York, during the American Revolution and claiming loyalty to both the British and American troops but preying on all persons indiscriminately.
Compare cowboy (def 5).
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English; see skin, -er1

Skinner

[skin-er] /ˈskɪn ər/
noun
1.
B(urrhus) F(rederic)
[bur-uh s] /ˈbɜr əs/ (Show IPA), 1904–90, U.S. psychologist and writer.
2.
Cornelia Otis, 1901–79, U.S. actress and author.
3.
her father, Otis, 1858–1942, U.S. actor.
Examples from the web for skinner
  • skinner introduced the use of pigeons, and they continue to be important in some fields.
British Dictionary definitions for skinner

skinner

/ˈskɪnə/
noun
1.
a person who prepares or deals in animal skins

Skinner

/ˈskɪnə/
noun
1.
B(urrhus) F(rederic). 1904–90, US behavioural psychologist. His "laws of learning", derived from experiments with animals, have been widely applied to education and behaviour therapy
Word Origin and History for skinner
n.

late 14c., "a dealer in skins," from skin (n.); as "one who skins," 1690s, agent noun from skin (v.). The surname is attested from mid-13c. Also in U.S. use "one who strips, robs, or plunders;" the name given to a band of marauders who committed depredations on Loyalists in New York during the Revolution. Cf. Old Norse skinnari "a dealer in skins; a skinner, tanner."

skinner in Medicine

Skinner Skin·ner (skĭn'ər), B(urrhus) F(rederick). 1904-1990.

American psychologist. A leading behaviorist, Skinner influenced the fields of psychology and education with his theories of stimulus-response behavior.