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Prepositions after verbs

Skew in, by, towards, to or against?

Skew commonly appears with towards, against, and by. Some combinations are uncommon or depend on a separate phrase.

Quick answer

Which prepositions work with skew?

Use skew towards or skew to for tendency or bias. Use skew against for unfair disadvantage. Use skew by to show the factor causing distortion. Skew in is uncommon as a direct combination and usually introduces a separate phrase such as location or field.

The survey results skew towards younger voters.
The rules skew against small businesses.
The average was skewed by a few extreme values.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
skew towards + group or result

Showing tendency or bias

Use towards when something leans in a particular direction.

Media coverage can skew towards dramatic stories.
The data skewed towards urban participants.
2
skew to + side or preference

Leaning in a direction

Skew to is less common than skew towards but still idiomatic.

Consumer demand skewed to cheaper products.
3
skew against + target

Creating unfair disadvantage

Use against when conditions favour one side over another.

The scoring system skews against inexperienced players.
4
skew by + factor

Showing what causes distortion

Use by to name the factor affecting balance or accuracy.

The figures were skewed by incomplete reporting.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
skew towards
The audience skews towards teenagers.
shows a tendency or bias in one direction
skew to
The debate skewed to economic issues.
leans toward a topic or side
skew against
The policy skews against renters.
creates disadvantage for a group
skew by
The results were skewed by outliers.
distorted because of something
skew in
Sales skew heavily in winter.
Here in introduces a time phrase, not a fixed verb-preposition combination

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using skew in as a fixed pattern

Skew in is not usually a standard verb-preposition combination.

✕ The survey skews in young voters. ✓ The survey skews towards young voters.

Confusing by and towards

By names the cause of distortion, while towards shows direction or bias.

✕ The results skewed towards a few errors. ✓ The results were skewed by a few errors.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The programme skews ___ older viewers.
2. The final numbers were skewed ___ missing data.
3. Many critics say the law skews ___ low-income workers.

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Frequently asked questions

Is skew towards more common than skew to?

Yes. Skew towards is generally more natural in modern English.

Can skew be used without a preposition?

Yes. For example: Extreme values can skew the results.

Does skew always imply unfairness?

No. It can simply describe imbalance or direction without a negative judgement.

sack, by, sack, for, sack, from "sacrifice for" or "sacrifice to"? sail from, in, for, to or through? "salvage from" or "salvage in"? sanction by, for, in, with or according? satisfy with, by, in, about or after? "saturate with" or "saturate in"? save by, for, from, on or in? "say in", "say about" or "say to"? "scan for", "scan in" or "scan through"? "scar by" or "scar on"? scatter in, across, around, throughout or on?

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