Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Skim?

\Skim\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Skimmed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Skimming}.] [Cf. Sw. skymma to darken. [root]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. 2. To take off by skimming; as, to skim cream. 3. To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of. Homer describes Mercury as flinging himself from the top of Olympus, and skimming the surface of the ocean. --Hazlitt. 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.
\Skim\, v. i. 1. To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface. Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the main. --Pope. 2. To hasten along with superficial attention. They skim over a science in a very superficial survey. --I. Watts. 3. To put on the finishing coat of plaster.
\Skim\, a. Contraction of {Skimming} and {Skimmed}. {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.