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Definition of "shim" [shim]

  • A thin, often tapered piece of material, such as wood, stone, or metal, used to fill gaps, make something level, or adjust something to fit properly. (noun)
  • To fill in, level, or adjust by using shims or a shim. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "shim" in a sentence
  • "Marlene was already flipping through the _American Heritage Dictionary_ -- she had brought it in a plastic shopping bag because of my previous day's challenge of "shim" -- and she triumphantly told me, holding the fat volume in my face, that no such word was listed in it."
  • "This is being fixed by adding a small piece of metal - called a "shim" - in a procedure that Toyota starts at dealerships in the UK on Wednesday."
  • "… shim is just a barren, ovaryless freak of nature who maintains a dominatrix-to-trick relationship …"