What does "slim" mean?
A type of cigarette substantially longer and thinner than normal cigarettes.
Slim
/slɪm/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A type of cigarette substantially longer and thinner than normal cigarettes.
- Grammar: slim is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: slender, slight, abstemious, adroit.
- Useful contrasts: fat, fleshy, abdominous.
- Usage evidence: Young girls' desire for slim figures is strong.
How to use "slim"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "slim" 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 "slim" 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 "slim" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "slim" 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 "slim" 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 "slender" 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 "slim", 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 type of cigarette substantially longer and thinner than normal cigarettes.
"I only smoke slims."
- 2 Alternative form of sling (“type of alcoholic mixed drink”) alt-of, alternative
"Crump, having fortified himself with a bobstick of rum slim, moved cautiously among the crowds who bustled along Fleet Street."
- 3 Acronym of short linear motif. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 4 A potato farl. Ireland, regional
- 5 AIDS, or the chronic wasting associated with its later stages. Africa, East, uncountable
"As in the West, only about 50 per cent of patients with slim fully investigated will have a putative pathogen identified."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Cocaine. slang, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To lose weight in order to achieve slimness. intransitive
- 2 take off weight wordnet
- 3 To make slimmer; to reduce in size. transitive
Adjective
- 1 Slender; thin.; Slender in an attractive way.
"Movie stars are usually slim, attractive, and young."
- 2 Slender; thin.; Designed to make the wearer appear slim. broadly
- 3 Slender; thin.; Long and narrow.
- 4 Slender; thin.; Of a reduced size, with the intent of being more efficient.
- 5 Very small, tiny.
"I'm afraid your chances are quite slim."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Bad, of questionable quality; not strongly built, flimsy. Northern-England, Scotland
"A slimly-shod lad;"
- 7 Sly, crafty. South-Africa, obsolete
Adjective
- 1 being of delicate or slender build wordnet
- 2 small in quantity wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A male given name.
Antonyms
Example
"Young girls' desire for slim figures is strong."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "slim"?
Common synonyms include: slender, slight, abstemious, adroit, airy, ascetic.
How do you use "slim" in a sentence?
Young girls' desire for slim figures is strong.
How do you pronounce "slim"?
Pronounced /slɪm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Borrowing from Low German or Dutch slim (“bad, sly, clever”), from Middle Dutch slim (“bad, crooked”), from Old Dutch *slimb, from Proto-West Germanic *slimb, from Proto-Germanic *slimbaz (“oblique, crooked”). The sense development would have been "slanting, cunning" (Dutch) > "insignificant, slight" and then "thin, graceful" in English, a shift that Liberman calls an "incredible amelioration" of word meaning. The pejorative sense found in Low German and Dutch is also found preserved in the archaic English noun slim (“worthless or lazy person”), also comparable to the South African use of the adjective as "crafty, sly." Compare Dutch slim (“smart, clever, crafty”), Middle High German slimp (“slanting, awry”), German schlimm (“bad”), West Frisian slim (“bad, dire”).
Etymology 2
* As an English surname, from the noun slime, probably topographic. * As a Native American surname (Navajo), from the English adjective slim, a calque of personal names containing the suffix -tsʼósí (“skinny, slim”), such as Hastiin-tsʼósí (“slim man”), see also Tsosie.