Vocabulary     

What does skim mean?

Definitions for skim
skɪmskim

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word skim.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. skimnoun

    a thin layer covering the surface of a liquid

    "there was a thin skim of oil on the water"

  2. skim, skimmingadjective

    reading or glancing through quickly

  3. skim, skimmedverb

    used of milk and milk products from which the cream has been removed

    "yogurt made with skim milk"; "she can drink skimmed milk but should avoid butter"

  4. plane, skimverb

    travel on the surface of water

  5. skim over, skimverb

    move or pass swiftly and lightly over the surface of

  6. scan, skim, rake, glance over, run downverb

    examine hastily

    "She scanned the newspaper headlines while waiting for the taxi"

  7. skim, skip, skitterverb

    cause to skip over a surface

    "Skip a stone across the pond"

  8. skimverb

    coat (a liquid) with a layer

  9. skim, skim off, cream off, creamverb

    remove from the surface

    "skim cream from the surface of milk"

  10. skim, skim oververb

    read superficially

Wiktionary

  1. skimverb

    to throw an object so it bounces on water (skimming stones)

  2. skimverb

    to ricochet

  3. skimverb

    to read quickly, skipping some detail

  4. skimverb

    to scrape off; to remove (something) from a surface

  5. skimverb

    to carefully remove the cream that floats on top of fresh milk

  6. skimadjective

    Having lowered fat content.

  7. Etymology: From skimmen

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To Skimverb

    Etymology: from scum; escume, French.

    My coz Tom, or his coz Mary,
    Who hold the plough or skim the dairy,
    My fav’rite books, and pictures sell. Matthew Prior.

    She boils in kettles must of wine, and skims
    With leaves the dregs that overflow the brims. Dryden.

    His principal studies were after the works of Titian, whose cream he has skimm’d. John Dryden, Dufresnoy.

    The surface of the sea is covered with its bubbles, while it rises, which they skim off into their boats, and afterwards separate in pots. Addison.

    Whilome I’ve seen her skim the cloated cream,
    And press from spongy curds the milky stream. John Gay.

    Nor seeks in air her humble flight to raise,
    Content to skim the surface of the seas. Dryden.

    The swallow skims the river’s watry face. Dryden.

    A winged eastern blast just skimming o’er
    The ocean’s brow, and sinking on the shore. Matthew Prior.

    Dang’rous flats in secret ambush lay,
    Where the false tides skim o’er the cover’d land,
    And seamen with dissembled depths betray. Dryden.

  2. To Skimverb

    To pass lightly; to glide along.

    Thin airy shapes o’er the furrows rise,
    A dreadful scene! and skim before his eyes. Addison.

    When Ajax strives some rock’s vast weight to throw,
    The line too labours, and the words move slow;
    Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain,
    Flies o’er th’ unbending corn and skims along the main. Alexander Pope.

    Such as have active spirits, who are ever skimming over the surface of things with a volatile spirit, will fix nothing in their memory. Isaac Watts, Improvement of the Mind.

    They skim over a science in a very superficial survey, and never lead their disciples into the depths of it. Isaac Watts.

    The boat, light skimming, stretch’d his oary wings. James Thomson.

Wikipedia

  1. SKIM

    Sea surface kinematics multiscale monitoring (SKIM) was one of the two candidate missions for the 9th Earth Explorer mission of in the Living Planet Programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). SKIM and the other candidate (FORUM) were pre-selected for a detailed study in November 2017. Only one of the two candidates was to be selected in 2019 for immediate implementation and a possible launch by the year 2025, and FORUM was chosen.

ChatGPT

  1. skim

    Skim can have several meanings depending on its context. Generally, it refers to: 1. Removing a substance from the surface of a liquid; to take off the top layer. For instance, skimming the cream off milk or skimming fat from soup. 2. Reading or looking over quickly or superficially. For instance, skimming a book or skimming an article. 3. If a object is skimming, it often means moving swiftly and directly just above a surface. For instance, a stone skims over water or a bird skims over trees. 4. In financial terms, it refers to stealing a small amount of money periodically. 5. In some contexts, it can mean to skip over or leave out. 6. To reduce or decrease in a gradual or step by step manner, similar to taking small portions off the top.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Skimverb

    to clear (a liquid) from scum or substance floating or lying thereon, by means of a utensil that passes just beneath the surface; as, to skim milk; to skim broth

  2. Skimverb

    to take off by skimming; as, to skim cream

  3. Skimverb

    to pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of

  4. Skimverb

    fig.: To read or examine superficially and rapidly, in order to cull the principal facts or thoughts; as, to skim a book or a newspaper

  5. Skimverb

    to pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface

  6. Skimverb

    to hasten along with superficial attention

  7. Skimverb

    to put on the finishing coat of plaster

  8. Skimadjective

    contraction of Skimming and Skimmed

  9. Etymology: [Cf. Sw. skymma to darken. 158. See Scum.]

Wikidata

  1. Skim

    Skim is an open-source PDF reader. It is notably the first free software PDF reader for Mac OS X. It is written in Objective-C, and uses Cocoa APIs. It is released under a BSD license. It is also cited as being able to help annotate and read scientific papers.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Skim

    skim, v.t. to clear off scum: to take off by skimming: to brush the surface of lightly.—v.i. to pass over lightly: to glide along near the surface: to become coated over:—pr.p. skim′ming; pa.t. and pa.p. skimmed.—n. the act of skimming: what is skimmed off.—ns. Skim′mer, a utensil for skimming milk: a bird that skims the water; Skim′-milk, skimmed milk: milk from which the cream has been skimmed; Skim′ming, the act of taking off that which floats on the surface of a liquid, as cream: that which is taken off, scum.—adv. Skim′mingly, by skimming along the surface. [Scum.]

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of skim in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of skim in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of skim in a Sentence

  1. Kris Charles:

    Cereal is a delicious and nutritious breakfast, numerous studies show that a cereal breakfast is associated with lower BMIs (body mass index) in both children and adults. As a matter of fact, a serving of Frosted Flakes with skim milk has just 150 calories and delivers valuable nutrients including calcium, B vitamins and iron.

  2. W. S. Gilbert:

    Things are seldom what they seem, skim milk masquerades as cream.

  3. Chris Weidman:

    When I have coffee I can have regular milk not skim milk, they don’t’ want anything low-fat. Non-fat is like, not allowed.

  4. Mahabharata:

    Just as the track of birds that cleave the air Is not discovered, nor yet the path of fish That skim the water, so the course of those Who do good actions is not always seen.

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Popularity rank by frequency of use

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References

Translations for skim

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • يَرْتَArabic
  • hodit žabku, listovatCzech
  • skimme, rikochettere, slå smutDanish
  • abprallen, abstreichen, abschöpfen, übers Wasser hüpfen lassen, überfliegenGerman
  • εξοστρακίζομαιGreek
  • encima, rebotar, hojear, descremado, por, leer, desnatarSpanish
  • لاغریPersian
  • silmäillä, heittää leipiä, kimmota, heittää leipää, kaapia, lukaista, kuoriaFinnish
  • écrémer, ricocher, des, feuilleter, faire, ricochetsFrench
  • kacsázik, visszapattanHungarian
  • schiumare, scremato, rimbalzare, scorrere, scremare, spannareItalian
  • לְרַחֵףHebrew
  • 飛びはねる, ざっと読む, 読み流す, 読み飛ばすJapanese
  • kirīmikore, kore kirīmiMāori
  • afromen, doorbladeren, afgeroomd, diagonaal, afschrapen, lezen, afketsen, ketsenDutch
  • skumleseNorwegian
  • rikoszetowaćPolish
  • ricochetear, diagonal, superficialmente, em, lerPortuguese
  • răsfoiRomanian
  • снимать, пускать блинчики, листать, бегло прочитывать, пролистывать, бить рикошетом, рикошетироватьRussian
  • studsa, skumma, kasta macka, rikoschettera, ögna igenomSwedish
  • sekmekTurkish
  • אָפּשעפּןYiddish
  • 撇去Chinese

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"skim." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/skim>.

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