What does "shim" mean?
A wedge.
Shim
/ʃɪm/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A wedge.
- Grammar: shim is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: adapter, backspacer, calk, chock.
- Useful contrasts: deprecate, detach, direct API support.
- Usage evidence: NASA officials concluded the debris was likely a plastic separator, or shim, from the shuttle's ceramic tile heat shield.
How to use "shim"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shim" 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 "shim" 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 "shim" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shim" 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 "shim" is acting as 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 "adapter" 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 "shim", 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 A wedge.
- 2 A transsexual person, especially a trans woman; (loosely) a drag queen or transvestite. derogatory, informal, often
"He — or "Shim" (she/him), as film director John Waters called the actor Divine — was as much a paradoxical as a perverse fellow."
- 3 Abbreviation of scanning helium ion microscope. abbreviation, alt-of, uncountable
- 4 a thin wedge of material (wood or metal or stone) for driving into crevices wordnet
- 5 A thin piece of material, sometimes tapered, used for alignment or support.
"The second adjustment [to a door that keeps swinging open] will require the screws to be loosened, and a shim or packing piece pushed behind the hinge to bring it into line."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A person characterised by both male and female traits, or by ambiguous male-female traits; a hermaphrodite. derogatory, informal, often
"[…] that I was a hermaphrodite, and that things would probably be getting much, much worse as other "parts" of me began to grow manly and I made the full transformation into a "shim.""
- 7 A small library that transparently intercepts and modifies calls to an API, usually for compatibility purposes.
"Shims intercept Win32 API calls from legacy applications, as defined by system administrators, and then modify the call before passing the code to Windows for execution."
- 8 A kind of shallow plow used in tillage to break the ground and clear it of weeds.
- 9 A small metal device used to pick open a lock.
Verb
- 1 To fit one or more shims to a piece of machinery.
- 2 To adjust something by using shims.
- 3 To adjust the homogeneity of a magnetic field, after the mechanical devices once used for the purpose.
- 4 To intercept and modify calls to (an API), usually for compatibility purposes. transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"NASA officials concluded the debris was likely a plastic separator, or shim, from the shuttle's ceramic tile heat shield."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shim"?
Common synonyms include: adapter, backspacer, calk, chock, chocks, compatibility layer.
How do you use "shim" in a sentence?
NASA officials concluded the debris was likely a plastic separator, or shim, from the shuttle's ceramic tile heat shield.
How do you pronounce "shim"?
Pronounced /ʃɪm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Unknown; from Kent. Originally a piece of iron attached to a plow; sense of “thin piece of wood” from 1723, sense of “thin piece of material used for alignment or support” from 1860.
Etymology 2
Blend of she + him.
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Korean 심(沈) (Sim).