A skerry is a small, rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. In English this is considered to be a dialect word, from the Orkneys; but it is a term more used in Scandinavian (skär), there being a common origin in Old Norse. The disputed status of Rockall is to do with whether it is more than a skerry—if habitable then it has territorial waters anf a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone; if not, it is ignored in delineating the territorial boundaries of the states laying claim to it.

See: Pentland Skerries