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Definition of "skim" [skim]

  • To remove floating matter from (a liquid). (verb-transitive)
  • To remove (floating matter) from a liquid. (verb-transitive)
  • To take away the choicest or most readily attainable contents or parts from. (verb-transitive)
  • To coat or cover with or as if with a thin layer, as of scum. (verb-transitive)
  • To throw so as to bounce or slide: skimming stones on the pond. (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 "skim" in a sentence
  • "To achieve it, we had to learn how to 'skim' - that is, how to make selective readings from the enormous volume of data that arrives to our senses."
  • "This isn’t to say that books aren’t worth your time — the whole reason I flip and skim is that book-reading is so vital."
  • "My grandmother, a Depression-era Okie, called skim milk “blue john” and said it was only fit for “slopping hogs.”"