What does "rim" mean?
An edge around something, especially when circular.
Rim
/ɹɪm/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An edge around something, especially when circular.
- Grammar: rim is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: brim, lip, adjoin, balloon tire.
- Useful contrasts: center, centrum, cores.
- Usage evidence: Then I slipped out the card. No water leaks out because no air can come in; the rim is too close to the table for that.
How to use "rim"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "rim" 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 "rim" 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 "rim" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "rim" 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 "rim" is acting as 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 "brim" 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.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "rim", 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 An edge around something, especially when circular.
"That's... our galaxy. We're beyond the rim."
- 2 A membrane. UK, dialectal
- 3 A step of a ladder; a rung. British, dialectal
- 4 the top edge of a vessel or other container wordnet
- 5 A wheelrim.
"About an hour later, she noticed an all black Phantom with tints and chrome rims riding slowly through the car lot."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 The membrane enclosing the intestines; the peritoneum, hence loosely, the intestines; the lower part of the abdomen; belly. UK, dialectal, obsolete
"Moy shall not serve; I will have forty moys; / Or I will fetch thy rim out at thy throat / In drops of crimson blood."
- 7 a projection used for strength or for attaching to another object wordnet
- 8 A semicircular copydesk.
"COPY READER — Journeyman, experienced makeup, now slot man on metropolitan midwest daily. Will travel for good rim job on large paper."
- 9 the outer part of a wheel to which the tire is attached wordnet
- 10 The narrow surface of wine that meets the glass when it is tilted, used in identifying the age, body, etc.
- 11 (basketball) the hoop from which the net is suspended wordnet
- 12 the shape of a raised edge of a more or less circular object wordnet
Verb
- 1 To form a rim on. transitive
- 2 To lick the anus of a partner as a sexual act; to perform anilingus. slang, vulgar
"I had learned to lick their sweaty balls and would know what they wanted if they pulled their pants down and pushed my face in their ass for a rimming out."
- 3 roll around the rim of wordnet
- 4 To follow the contours, possibly creating a circuit. transitive
"Palm trees rim the beach."
- 5 furnish with a rim wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 To roll around a rim. intransitive, transitive
"Near-synonym: lip out"
- 7 run around the rim of wordnet
- 8 To coat the rim of a glass with salt or another powder.
Example
"Then I slipped out the card. No water leaks out because no air can come in; the rim is too close to the table for that."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "rim"?
Common synonyms include: brim, lip, adjoin, balloon tire, bank, befringe.
How do you use "rim" in a sentence?
Then I slipped out the card. No water leaks out because no air can come in; the rim is too close to the table for that.
How do you pronounce "rim"?
Pronounced /ɹɪm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English rim, rym, rime, from Old English rima (“rim, edge, border, bank, coast”), from Proto-Germanic *rimô, *rembô (“edge, border”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *rem-, *remə- (“to rest, support, be based”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Rim (“plank, wooden cross, trellis”), Old Saxon rimi (“edge; border; trim”), Icelandic rimi (“a strip of land”).
Etymology 2
From a variation of ream.
Etymology 3
From Middle English rim, rym, ryme, reme, from Old English rēoma (“membrane, ligament”), from Proto-West Germanic *reumō.
Etymology 4
Unknown.