Skim
[skɪm]
Definition
(noun.) reading or glancing through quickly.
(noun.) a thin layer covering the surface of a liquid; 'there was a thin skim of oil on the water'.
(verb.) read superficially.
(verb.) remove from the surface; 'skim cream from the surface of milk'.
(verb.) coat (a liquid) with a layer.
(verb.) cause to skip over a surface; 'Skip a stone across the pond'.
(adj.) used of milk and milk products from which the cream has been removed; 'yogurt made with skim milk'; 'she can drink skimmed milk but should avoid butter' .
Edited by Johanna--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To clear (a liquid) from scum or substance floating or lying thereon, by means of a utensil that passes just beneath the surface; as, to skim milk; to skim broth.
(v. t.) To take off by skimming; as, to skim cream.
(v. t.) To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of.
(v. t.) Fig.: To read or examine superficially and rapidly, in order to cull the principal facts or thoughts; as, to skim a book or a newspaper.
(v. i.) To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface.
(v. i.) To hasten along with superficial attention.
(v. i.) To put on the finishing coat of plaster.
(a.) Contraction of Skimming and Skimmed.
Checked by Elaine
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. n. Pass lightly or superficially.
Inputed by Dennis
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Brush, glide, graze, touch
ANT:Enter, penetrate
Edited by Diana
Definition
v.t. to clear off scum: to take off by skimming: to brush the surface of lightly.—v.i. to pass over lightly: to glide along near the surface: to become coated over:—pr.p. skim′ming; pa.t. and pa.p. skimmed.—n. the act of skimming: what is skimmed off.—ns. Skim′mer a utensil for skimming milk: a bird that skims the water; Skim′-milk skimmed milk: milk from which the cream has been skimmed; Skim′ming the act of taking off that which floats on the surface of a liquid as cream: that which is taken off scum.—adv. Skim′mingly by skimming along the surface.
Checked by Horatio
Examples
- Boil lightly for fifteen minutes, allow to cool, and then skim off the wax which floats on the surface. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- I wanted to be the one to tell you the grand surprise, and have 'first skim' as we used to say when we squabbled about the cream. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- She did not skim over it, but walked down it, and guided herself by the banisters on account of her candle having died out. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- The cream which rises will keep, and the skim-milk will remain sweet for several weeks; this I have tried in the dairy at Beaumont College. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- Here aloft, the companions of the swift-winged birds, we skim through the unresisting element, fleetly and fearlessly. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- But ere the words had passed his lips she was across the snowy road, rather skimming than wading the drifts. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- The wind blew roughly, the wet squalls came rattling past them, skimming the pools on the road and pavement, and raining them down into the river. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- During our stay at Naples, we often returned to this cave, sometimes alone, skimming the sun-lit sea, and each time added to our store. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Then the airship began to descend, taking the circles easily, and finally skimming down to the ground. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- They have a peculiar and mysterious power of skimming out of rooms, which other mortals possess not. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- The ancient methods of simply melting and skimming the bullion dross have been superseded. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- He passed me at speed, hardly feeling the earth he skimmed, and seeing nothing on either hand. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Off she skimmed, bearing the cherub along, nor ever stopped, nor suffered him to stop, until she had pulled at the bell. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- The crucible is now covered and the fusion kept up for about thirty-five minutes, when the dross is skimmed off, and the alloy found ready for use. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- The coffee was gray with milk, and I skimmed the milk scum off the top with a piece of bread. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- In the centrifugal skimmer the milk is continuously poured in through a funnel, and the cream runs out continuously through one spout, and the skimmed milk at the other. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- I have just skimmed it. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- When she was serene she skimmed like a swallow, and that is how she was moving now. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Mercury, swift-responsive, appears, receives instructions whom to produce, skims away, produces the aforesaid, and departs. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
Checked by Gardner