skim

Meanings

Verb

  • To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface.
  • To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of.
  • To hasten along with superficial attention.
  • To put on a finishing coat of plaster.
  • To throw an object so it bounces on water.
  • To ricochet.
  • To read quickly, skipping some detail.
  • To scrape off; to remove (something) from a surface
  • To clear (a liquid) from scum or substance floating or lying on it, by means of a utensil that passes just beneath the surface.
  • To clear a liquid from (scum or substance floating or lying on it), especially the cream that floats on top of fresh milk.
  • To steal money from a business before the transaction has been recorded, thus avoiding detection.
  • To surreptitiously scan a payment card in order to obtain its information for fraudulent purposes.
  • To become coated over.

Adjective

Noun

  • A cursory reading, skipping the details.
  • Skim milk.
  • The act of skimming.
  • That which is skimmed off.
  • Theft of money from a business before the transaction has been recorded, thus avoiding detection.

Origin

  • From Middle English skemen, skymen, variants of scumen, from Old French escumer ("to remove scum"), from escume, from Frankish *skūm, from Proto-Germanic *skūmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *skew- ("to cover, conceal"). See scum.

Modern English dictionary

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