What does "trim" mean?
Decoration; especially, decoration placed along edges or borders.
Trim
/tɹɪm/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Decoration; especially, decoration placed along edges or borders.
- Grammar: trim is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abbreviate, abbreviates, ability, abridge.
- Useful contrasts: elaborate description, paunchier, potbellied.
- Usage evidence: I asked the butcher to trim all the fat off of the meat.
How to use "trim"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "trim" 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 "trim" 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 "trim" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "trim" 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 "trim" is acting as adj, adv, 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 "abbreviate" 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 "trim", 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 Decoration; especially, decoration placed along edges or borders. uncountable
"Paint the house white with blue trim."
- 2 Acronym of trade-related investment measure. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 3 cutting down to the desired size or shape wordnet
- 4 A haircut, especially a moderate one to touch up an existing style. countable
"I went to the hairdresser for a trim but came back nearly bald."
- 5 a decoration or adornment typically on the edge of a garment wordnet
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 Dress; gear; ornaments. countable, uncountable
"It was the Winter wilde. While the Heav’n-born-childe, All meanly wrapt in the rude manger lies: Nature in aw to him Had doff't her gawdy trim, With her great Maſter ſo to ſympathize: It was no ſeaſon then for her To wanton with the Sun her luſty Paramour."
- 7 attitude of an aircraft in flight when allowed to take its own orientation wordnet
- 8 The manner in which something is equipped or adorned; order; disposition. countable
"to be in good trim"
- 9 a state of arrangement or appearance wordnet
- 10 The manner in which something is equipped or adorned; order; disposition.; Features optionally available on a vehicle; an established configuration of such features within a model (a trim level). countable, especially, uncountable
"Holonyms: make; model"
- 11 The state of adjustment of control surfaces such that the desired attitude can be maintained without requiring the continuous application of force to the cockpit controls. uncountable
- 12 The mechanism(s) used to trim an aircraft in roll, pitch, and/or yaw. broadly, uncountable
- 13 The female genitalia. mildly, slang, uncountable, vulgar
- 14 Sexual intercourse with a woman. broadly, mildly, slang, uncountable, vulgar
""Take me somewhere." His response lacked dignity, but in fairness to him I admit that I had left him little chance to be suave. He asked, "You mean, you’re going to give me some trim?""
- 15 The fore-and-aft angle of the vessel to the water, with reference to the cargo and ballast; the manner in which a vessel floats on the water, whether on an even keel or down by the head or stern. countable, uncountable
- 16 The arrangement of the sails with reference to the wind. countable, uncountable
- 17 Any of the three cut edges of book pages, trimmed with a shear after binding. countable, uncountable
- 18 The horizontal position of an underwater water uncountable
Verb
- 1 To reduce slightly; to cut; especially, to remove excess. transitive
"He trimmed his beard before the interview."
- 2 adjust (sails on a ship) so that the wind is optimally used wordnet
- 3 To decorate or adorn; especially of a Christmas tree. transitive
"They traditionally trim the tree on Christmas Eve."
- 4 cut down on; make a reduction in wordnet
- 5 To adjust the positions of control surfaces, sometimes using trim tabs, so as to modify or eliminate the aircraft's tendency to pitch, roll, or yaw when the cockpit controls are released. transitive
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 cut closely wordnet
- 7 To modify the angle relative to the water by shifting cargo or ballast; to adjust for sailing; to assume, or cause to assume a certain position, or trim, in the water. transitive
"The captain made us trim the boat, and we got her to lie a little more evenly."
- 8 remove the edges from and cut down to the desired size wordnet
- 9 To modify the angle (of the sails) relative to the wind, especially to set them at the most advantageous angle. transitive
- 10 cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of wordnet
- 11 To balance; to fluctuate between parties, so as to appear to favour each. dated
- 12 decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods wordnet
- 13 To make trim; to put in due order for any purpose; to make right, neat, or pleasing; to adjust. transitive
"The hermit trimmed his little fire."
- 14 decorate, as with ornaments wordnet
- 15 To dress; to make smooth. transitive
- 16 be in equilibrium during a flight wordnet
- 17 To rebuke; to reprove. dated, transitive
- 18 balance in flight by regulating the control surfaces wordnet
- 19 To beat or thrash. dated, transitive
- 20 To cut back the wick of (a lamp) to maintain a clean, bright flame. historical, transitive
"The lamp, or candle, which lights the binnacle, is placed in the cabin, of course the expence of one light is saved, and all the inconveniences of blowing out in a squally night, and likewise the trouble of trimming the lamp, are avoided."
- 21 To change the carbon rods of (an arc lamp). broadly, transitive
"To trim an arc lamp, first remove the old carbons and carefully and thoroughly wipe the carbon rods, holders, &c. with a clean, dry rag. […] Having cleaned the rods, next wipe out the globe and get ready the fresh carbons."
Adjective
- 1 Physically fit.
"He goes jogging every day to keep in trim."
- 2 Slender, lean.
"a trim figure"
- 3 Neat or smart in appearance.
"a trim lawn"
Adjective
- 1 thin and fit wordnet
- 2 severely simple in line or design wordnet
- 3 neat and smart in appearance wordnet
- 4 characterized by order and neatness; free from disorder wordnet
Adverb
- 1 In good order; properly managed or maintained. not-comparable
- 2 With sails well trimmed. not-comparable
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"I asked the butcher to trim all the fat off of the meat."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "trim"?
Common synonyms include: abbreviate, abbreviates, ability, abridge, abstain, abstract.
How do you use "trim" in a sentence?
I asked the butcher to trim all the fat off of the meat.
How do you pronounce "trim"?
Pronounced /tɹɪm/.
Etymology
From Middle English trimen, trymen, trümen, from Old English trymman (“to make firm; strengthen”), from Proto-West Germanic *trummjan, from Proto-Germanic *trumjaną (“to make fast; strengthen”), from Proto-Germanic *trumaz (“firm; strong; sound”).