What does "brim" mean?
Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge.
Brim
/bɹɪm/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge.
- Grammar: brim is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: lip, rim, bank, board.
- Useful contrasts: bottom, deficit, deplete.
- Usage evidence: The waiter filled our glasses to the brim.
How to use "brim"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "brim" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "brim" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "brim" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "brim" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "brim" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "lip" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "brim", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge.
"Yet ſtill that direful ſtroke kept on his vvay, / And falling heauie on Cambellos creſt, / Strooke him ſo hugely, that in ſvvovvne he lay, / And in his head an hideous vvound impreſt: / And ſure had it not happily found reſt / Vpon the brim of his brode plated ſhield, / It vvould haue cleft his braine dovvne to his breſt."
- 2 The sea; ocean; water; flood. obsolete
- 3 Synonym of bream (“a freshwater fish from one of a number of genera”); specifically (US), the redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus). Australia, US
"Sometimes her daddy would take her fishing for catfish or brim (bream) out on the lake in his john boat."
- 4 The period when a sow (“female pig”) is ready to mate; a heat, an oestrus, a rut; also, an act of a boar (“male pig”) and sow mating. archaic
"You ſhall ſay […] Boare […] goeth to his […] Brymme."
- 5 An irascible, violent woman. UK, archaic, slang
"Can mortal ſcoundrels thee perplex, / And the great brim of brimſtones vex?"
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 a circular projection that sticks outward from the crown of a hat wordnet
- 7 Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge.; The topmost lip or rim of a container, or a natural feature shaped like a container.
"The toy box was filled to the brim with stuffed animals."
- 8 the top edge of a vessel or other container wordnet
- 9 Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge.; A projecting rim.
- 10 Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge.; A projecting rim.; That of a hat. especially
"He turned the back of his brim up stylishly."
- 11 Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge.; The upper edge or surface of water. archaic, poetic
"And as they that bare the Arke were come vnto Jordan, and the feet of the prieſt that bare the Arke, were dipped in the brimme of the water, (for Jordan ouerfloweth all his banks at the time of harueſt) That the waters which came downe from aboue, ſtood and roſe vp vpon an heape very farre, […]"
- 12 Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge.; The surface of the ground. obsolete
"[T]he place, of that fyre vnder the earthe, […] is not nye the centre of the earth, bicauſe then, it would eaſily bée corrupted, for the earth, is ther moſt pure and therfore, the vertue doth more floriſh, ſo that it is moſt colde, neither is the place of the fyre, vnder the brimme of the Earth, for if it were ther conteyned, it would burne vp the plants, and whatſoeuer is in the face of the ſame, and therfore be concludeth, that it is in the middle hollowneſſes, betwene theſe two extremes, that is, béetwene the centre, ⁊ the face of the earthe, […]"
- 13 Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge.; A brink or edge. figuratively, obsolete
"For except thou haue borne the croſſe of aduerſitie and temptacion, and haſte felte thy ſelfe brought vnto the very brymme of desperacion, yea ⁊ vnto hells gates, thou canſt neuer medle with the ſentence of predeſtinacion without thine owne harme, and without ſecret wrathe and grudging inwardly agaynſt God, for otherwiſe it ſhal not be poſſible for the [thee] to thinke that God is righteous and iuſte."
Verb
- 1 To fill (a container) to the brim (noun etymology 1 sense 1.1), top, or upper edge. transitive
"Arrange the board and brim the glass."
- 2 Of a boar (“male pig”): to mate with (a sow (“female pig”)); to rut. archaic, transitive
"Svvine alone of all creatures vvhen they be brimming, froth and fome at the mouth. And as for the Bore, if he heare the grunting of a Sovv that ſeekes to be brimmed, unleſſe he may come to her, vvill forſake his meat, untill he be leane and poore: and ſhe againe vvill be ſo farre enraged, that ſhe vvill be readie to run upon a man and all to teare him, eſpecially if his cloths be vvhite."
- 3 fill as much as possible wordnet
- 4 To fill (something) fully. figuratively, transitive
- 5 Of a sow: to be in heat; to rut; also, to mate with a boar. archaic, intransitive
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 be completely full wordnet
- 7 To be full until almost overflowing. also, figuratively, intransitive
"The room brimmed with people."
Adjective
- 1 Synonym of breme (“of the sea, wind, etc.: fierce; raging; stormy, tempestuous”). Scotland, archaic, poetic
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A locality in the Shire of Yarriambiack, north western Victoria, Australia.
Example
"The waiter filled our glasses to the brim."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "brim"?
Common synonyms include: lip, rim, bank, board, border, border.
How do you use "brim" in a sentence?
The waiter filled our glasses to the brim.
How do you pronounce "brim"?
Pronounced /bɹɪm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The noun is derived from Middle English brem, brim, brimme (“bank, edge, or margin of a lake or river; shore of a sea; brink; rim”); from Old English brim (“sea, surf, or the edge of the sea or a body of water”), from Proto-Germanic *brimą (“turbulence, surge; surf, sea”), from Proto-Germanic *bremaną (“to roar”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrem- (“to hum, make a noise”). The verb is derived from the noun. cognates * Bavarian Bräm (“border, stripe”) * Danish bræmme (“border, edge, brim”) * German Bräme, Brame (“border, edge”) * Swedish bräm (“border, edge”) * Icelandic barmur (“edge, verge, brink”)
Etymology 2
A variant of bream.
Etymology 3
The verb is derived from Middle English brimmen (“of pigs: to be in heat or rut; to breed; to bear fruit”), either: * modified from brem, breme (“of animals: ferocious, savage; of fire, the sea, a storm, etc.: raging, severe, tempestuous; glorious, splendid; etc.”, adjective) (whence modern English breme (“(obsolete) fierce, stormy, tempestuous”)), from Old English brēme (“(poetic) glorious; famous, renowned”), from Proto-West Germanic *brōmi, from Proto-Germanic *brōmiz (“famous”); or * directly from Old English bremman (“to rage; to roar”) (though not attested in Middle English), from Proto-Germanic *bramjaną, *bremaną (“to roar”); both from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrem- (“to make noise”). The noun is derived from Middle English brim, from the verb: see above.
Etymology 4
A variant of breme.
Etymology 5
Clipping of brimstone (“sulphur; (figurative) a domineering, scolding woman”).
Etymology 6
As an English surname, spelling variant of Bream. As a Jewish surname, acronymically from Hebrew בן רבי (bén rabí, “son of Rabbi…”) followed by a Yiddish personal name. Compare Brill.