What does "skim" mean?
A cursory reading, skipping the details.
Skim
/skɪm/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A cursory reading, skipping the details.
- Grammar: skim is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: aquaplane, aquaplanes, avalanche, ball the jack.
- Useful contrasts: exhausted, flyspecked, microscopic view.
- Usage evidence: Skim through this pamphlet before you take the examination for our company.
How to use "skim"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "skim" 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 "skim" 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 "skim" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "skim" 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 "skim" is acting as adj, 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 "aquaplane" 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 "skim", 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 cursory reading, skipping the details. countable, uncountable
"For a first quick appreciation of the approach, we recommend a fast reading of Chapter 1, then a skim through the figures of the next two chapters — glancing at the definitions of key concepts that appear below the figures in Chapters 2 and 3."
- 2 reading or glancing through quickly wordnet
- 3 Skim milk. countable, informal, uncountable
"Two percent milk has only a fraction less fat than whole milk, so unless you are feeding a child or someone whose diet requires whole milk, skim is best."
- 4 a thin layer covering the surface of a liquid wordnet
- 5 The act of skimming. countable, uncountable
"Then you could jump 150 years and enjoy a skim across the Solent in Britain's remarkable Hovercraft."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 That which is skimmed off. countable, uncountable
- 7 Theft of money from a business before the transaction has been recorded, thus avoiding detection. countable, uncountable
"It's a hustle, but it keeps me busy. I can take in three to three-fifty a week, more with skims."
Verb
- 1 To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface. intransitive
"Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, / Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the main."
- 2 read superficially wordnet
- 3 To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of. transitive
"Homer describes Mercury as flinging himself from the top of Olympus, and skimming the surface of the ocean."
- 4 move or pass swiftly and lightly over the surface of wordnet
- 5 To hasten along with superficial attention.
"They skim over a science in a very night superficial survey."
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 remove from the surface wordnet
- 7 To put on a finishing coat of plaster.
"Ceilings are lined with fibrous asbestos, the internal plastering being reduced to skimming alone."
- 8 coat (a liquid) with a layer wordnet
- 9 To throw an object so it bounces on water. transitive
"skimming stones"
- 10 cause to skip over a surface wordnet
- 11 To ricochet. intransitive
- 12 travel on the surface of water wordnet
- 13 To read quickly or describe summarily, skipping some detail. transitive
"(through)"
- 14 examine hastily wordnet
- 15 To scrape off; to remove (something) from a surface transitive
- 16 To clear (a liquid) from scum or substance floating or lying on it, by means of a utensil that passes just beneath the surface. transitive
"to skim milk"
- 17 To clear a liquid from (scum or substance floating or lying on it), especially the cream that floats on top of fresh milk. transitive
"to skim cream"
- 18 To steal money from a business before the transaction has been recorded, thus avoiding detection.
"Obviously, the longer cash sits around before being recorded, the more likely it is that a skimming fraud will occur."
- 19 To surreptitiously scan a payment card in order to obtain its information for fraudulent purposes.
- 20 To become coated over. intransitive
Adjective
- 1 Having lowered fat content. not-comparable
Adjective
- 1 used of milk and milk products from which the cream has been removed wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Skim through this pamphlet before you take the examination for our company."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "skim"?
Common synonyms include: aquaplane, aquaplanes, avalanche, ball the jack, barrel, blink.
How do you use "skim" in a sentence?
Skim through this pamphlet before you take the examination for our company.
How do you pronounce "skim"?
Pronounced /skɪm/.
Etymology
From Middle English skemen, skymen, variants of scumen, from Old French escumer (“to remove scum”), from escume (“froth, foam”), from Frankish *skūm (“froth, foam”), from Proto-Germanic *skūmaz (“foam”), from Proto-Indo-European *skew- (“to cover, conceal”). See scum.