GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 3 definitions

1.       
   Skim (skĭm), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Skimmed (skĭmd); p. pr. & vb. n. Skimming.] [Cf. Sw. skymma to darken. √158. See Scum.]
   1. 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.”
   
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   2. To take off by skimming; as, “to skim cream”.
   
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   3. To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of.
   
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   Homer describes Mercury as flinging himself from the top of Olympus, and skimming the surface of the ocean. Hazlitt.
   
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   4. 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”.
   
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2.       
   Skim, v. i.
   1. To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface.
   
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   Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain,
   
   Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the main. Pope.
   
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   2. To hasten along with superficial attention.
   
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   They skim over a science in a very superficial survey. I. Watts.
   
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   3. To put on the finishing coat of plaster.
   
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3.       
   Skim, a. Contraction of Skimming and Skimmed.
   
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   Skim coat, the final or finishing coat of plaster. -- Skim colter, a colter for paring off the surface of land. -- Skim milk, skimmed milk; milk from which the cream has been taken.
   
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