phrase

• Be extremely startled.

  More example sentences

  • ‘I nearly jumped out of my skin when Guy fired his revolver’
  • ‘Then the plane started shaking and I nearly jumped out of my skin.’
  • ‘The clock struck midnight, and half of us jumped out of our skin.’
  • ‘I stopped singing suddenly, nearly jumping out of my skin when someone put their hand on my shoulder.’
  • ‘She stretched again and yawned, nearly jumping out of her skin when someone knocked on her door.’
  • ‘When the doorbell rang, I nearly jumped out of my skin.’
  • ‘I nearly jumped out of my skin as my cell phone rang.’
  • ‘Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder, and nearly jumped out of my skin.’
  • ‘He continued looking around for a moment, then nearly jumped out of his skin as someone tapped him on the shoulder.’
  • ‘He turned to get a drink and nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of Meredith.’
  • ‘Abby jumped out of her skin and nearly screamed.’

  Synonyms

  start, jerk, jolt, flinch, recoil, twitch, wince