Jump To:

• trim
  trim

  verb (used with object)

  to put into a neat or orderly condition by clipping, paring, pruning, etc..
• Trim
  Trim

  noun

  the county town of Meath, Republic of Ireland; 12th-century castle, medieval cathedral; textiles and machinery. Pop: 5894 (2002)

trim

American  

[trim] / trɪm /

verb (used with object)

• trims,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trimmed,
  past participle,  past
• trimming
  present participle

1. to put into a neat or orderly condition by clipping, paring, pruning, etc..

   to trim a hedge.

   Synonyms:

   lop, cut, shave, shear

2. to remove (something superfluous or dispensable) by or as if by cutting (often followed byoff ).

   to trim off loose threads from a ragged edge.

3. to cut down, as to required size or shape.

   trim a budget; trim a piece of wood.

4. Aeronautics. to level off (an airship or airplane) in flight.

5. Nautical.

   1. to distribute the load of (a ship) so that it sits well in the water.

   2. to stow or arrange, as cargo.

   3. to adjust (the sails or yards) with reference to the direction of the wind and the course of the ship.

6. to decorate or adorn with ornaments or embellishments.

   to trim a dress with fur.

   Synonyms:

   garnish, embellish, ornament, bedeck, deck

7. to arrange goods in (a store window, showcase, etc.) as a display.

8. to prepare or adjust (a lamp, fire, etc.) for proper burning.

9. Informal.

   1. to rebuke or reprove.

   2. to beat or thrash.

   3. to defeat.

10. to dress or array (often followed byup ).

---

verb (used without object)

• trims,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trimmed,
  past participle,  past
• trimming
  present participle

1. Nautical.

   1. to assume a particular position or trim in the water, as a vessel.

   2. to adjust the sails or yards with reference to the direction of the wind and the course of the ship.

2. to pursue a neutral or cautious policy between parties.

3. to accommodate one's views to the prevailing opinion for reasons of expediency.

noun

• trims
  plural

1. the condition, order, or fitness of a person or thing for action, work, use, etc.

2. Nautical.

   1. the set of a ship in the water, especially the most advantageous one.

   2. the condition of a ship with reference to its fitness for sailing.

   3. the adjustment of sails, rigging, etc., with reference to wind direction and the course of the ship.

   4. the condition of a submarine as regards buoyancy.

3. a person's dress, adornment, or appearance.

4. material used for decoration or embellishment; decorative trimming.

   Synonyms:

   garnish, adornment

5. decoration of a store window for the display of merchandise; window dressing.

6. a trimming by cutting, clipping, or the like.

7. a haircut that restores the previous cut to neatness without changing the hairstyle.

8. something that is cut off or eliminated.

9. Aeronautics. the attitude of an airplane with respect to all three axes, at which balance occurs in forward flight under no controls.

10. Building Trades. finished woodwork or the like used to decorate or border openings or wall surfaces, as cornices, baseboards, or moldings.

11. Automotive.

    1. the upholstery, knobs, handles, and other equipment inside a motor car.

    2. ornamentation on the exterior of an automobile, especially in metal or a contrasting color.

adjective

• trimmer,
  comparative
• trimmest
  superlative

1. pleasingly neat or smart in appearance.

   trim lawns.

   Synonyms:

   spruce, trig, compact

2. in good condition or order.

3. (of a person) in excellent physical condition.

   Swimming is a good way to keep trim.

4. slim; lean.

5. Obsolete. good, excellent, or fine.

adverb

1. trimly.

idioms

1. trim one's sails. sail.

trim ¹ British  

/ trɪm /

adjective

1. neat and spruce in appearance

2. slim; slender

3. in good condition

---

verb

1. to put in good order, esp by cutting or pruning

2. to shape and finish (timber)

3. to adorn or decorate

4. to cut so as to remove

   to trim off a branch

5. to cut down to the desired size or shape

   to trim material to a pattern

6. dialect to decorate

   to trim a Christmas tree

7. nautical

   1. (also intr) to adjust the balance of (a vessel) or (of a vessel) to maintain an even balance, by distribution of ballast, cargo, etc

   2. (also intr) to adjust (a vessel's sails) to take advantage of the wind

   3. to stow (cargo)

8. to balance (an aircraft) before flight by adjusting the position of the load or in flight by the use of trim tabs, fuel transfer, etc

9. (also intr) to modify (one's opinions, etc) to suit opposing factions or for expediency

10. informal to thrash or beat

11. informal to rebuke

12. obsolete to furnish or equip

noun

1. a decoration or adornment

2. the upholstery and decorative facings, as on the door panels, of a car's interior

3. proper order or fitness; good shape

   in trim

4. a haircut that neatens but does not alter the existing hairstyle

5. nautical

   1. the general set and appearance of a vessel

   2. the difference between the draught of a vessel at the bow and at the stern

   3. the fitness of a vessel

   4. the position of a vessel's sails relative to the wind

   5. the relative buoyancy of a submarine

6. dress or equipment

7. window-dressing

8. the attitude of an aircraft in flight when the pilot allows the main control surfaces to take up their own positions

9. films a section of shot cut out during editing

10. material that is trimmed off

11. decorative mouldings, such as architraves, picture rails, etc

Trim ² British  

/ trɪm /

noun

1. the county town of Meath, Republic of Ireland; 12th-century castle, medieval cathedral; textiles and machinery. Pop: 5894 (2002)

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• trimness
  noun
• overtrim
  verb
• pretrim
  verb
• trimly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• trims
  plural

Adjectives

• trimmer
  comparative
• trimmest
  superlative

Participles

• trimming
  present
• trimmed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• trim
  simple
• trims
  simple
• have trimmed
  perfect
• has trimmed
  perfect
• am trimming
  progressive
• are trimming
  progressive
• is trimming
  progressive
• have been trimming
  perfect progressive
• has been trimming
  perfect progressive

Past

• trimmed
  simple
• had trimmed
  perfect
• was trimming
  progressive
• were trimming
  progressive
• had been trimming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will trim
  simple
• will have trimmed
  perfect
• will be trimming
  progressive
• will have been trimming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of trim

First recorded before 900; probably continuing Old English trymman, trymian “to strengthen, prepare” (not recorded in ME), derivative of trum “strong, active”; akin to Irish dron “strong,” Greek drȳmós “coppice,” Latin dūrus “hard”; see tree

Explanation

When you cut something, literally or figuratively, you trim it. If you have steady hands, you can trim your own bangs. If you don't have steady hands, you can save up for a professional haircut by trimming the amount of money you spend on comics and snacks. A landscaper trims the grass and shrubs, and a cook trims fat off of meat before cooking it. But when you trim the Christmas tree, you decorate it, and when a sailor trims the sails, she adjusts them so they'll catch the wind just right. And as a noun, a trim is "an act of cutting," while trim is "decoration." All forms of this word are rooted in nautical language.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trim Trim trims trimmer trimmest trimmed trimming

Martin-Baker expanded club privileges in 2009 after British watchmaker Bremont designed the MBI, a silver watch with red trim, for its members.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

An unexpected bold red with a contrasting strip of vibrant blue trim.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Jacobs’ residence is constructed from stone and plaster, with a slate roof and copper trim.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

The cordon surrounds the scene, which is close to the fishing lake, and two camping tents - one of which is white with a navy blue trim - have been pitched.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

Although he dressed as carefully as ever, his trim suits now served as a constant reminder of his breakdown.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

The accused, who was arrested on Wednesday, was brought before a special sitting of Trim District Court in County Meath on Friday evening.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

In 2019 DTE launched what it dubbed the “Tree Trim Surge,” and over the next five years it spent over $1 billion on the effort.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

Trim positions if you have to, but hold on to the shares of this AI winner.

From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025

Trim lower tree branches and keep woodpiles away from vegetation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2025

There is no occasion, Trim, quoth my uncle Toby, to say anything else; and was a man to puzzle his brains till Doom’s day, I believe, Trim, it would be impossible.

From The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne

To reflect the won’s strength and higher raw-material costs, Daiwa lowers its 2026-2027 earnings forecasts for the stock and trims its target price to 560,000 won from 580,000 won but maintains a buy rating.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Macquarie trims its target price 3.1% to 4.75 Australian dollars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

He cuts his 2027-2028 earnings-per-share estimates for Advanced Info Service by 4.1%-8.7% and trims his 2026-2028 EPS projections for True Corp. by 3.7%-8.6%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Macquarie trims its 2027-2029 EPS estimates by 2% and downgrades the stock to underperform from neutral, citing a 30% premium to Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

She picks up the fallen blossom and trims the stem, wincing.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

When she refuses, Spears grabs the trimmer and clicks it on: “The extensions are hacked into lifeless scraps … the stray hairs curl on the floor like writhing snakes.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2025

Men with enormous beards that have never known the touch of a trimmer.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2024

Hernandez, 37, appears fit and trim — perhaps fitter and trimmer than in his last few years with Seattle.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2023

But this week critics accused Mr Hennessy of making the 77-year-old in the Miami courtroom look far younger and trimmer than he really is.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2023

Then she turned the electric hedge trimmer off and said, “I’m afraid you’re going to have to say that again. I’m a little deaf.”

From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon

This design gives the A8F a stunning presentation of just a giant display with the trimmest of bezels surrounding it.

From The Verge ● Nov. 2, 2018

The company has an annual voluntary 12-week challenge in the fall to encourage employees to be active and not pack on the holiday pounds, with prizes for those who stay trimmest.

From Forbes ● Feb. 25, 2011

He found the ideal right-hand man in Stanton, who has streamlined CBS into the trimmest organization in broadcasting.

From Time Magazine Archive

It was hell last week on one of the biggest, whitest and trimmest of U.S. inland excursion steamers, the Island Queen.

From Time Magazine Archive

After half an hour our postillion arrived with four or five men in their gayest and trimmest costume, the landlord among them.

From Northern Travel Summer and Winter Pictures of Sweden, Denmark and Lapland by Bayard Taylor

U.S. natural gas futures ended a choppy session little changed with some support from a below-average weekly storage build that trimmed the inventory surplus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Hernández’s two-run homer Tuesday, in the Dodgers’ 4-0 win against the Reds, was his second home run in as many nights, as the team trimmed its magic number to clinch the division to two.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Still, the trimmed mean and weighted median measures of underlying inflation preferred by the Bank of Canada were unchanged, averaging 1.95% annually.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

The ceiling mural is trimmed in baby pink, which builds upon pink details in paintings on surrounding walls.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

I found myself thinking about how to best lean into turns so that the mower wouldn’t leave rough patches that needed to be trimmed by hand.

From "Lawn Boy" by Gary Paulsen

U.K. 30-year gilt yields last traded at 5.813%, trimming their earlier rise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

So you might start out retirement with 50% in stocks and 50% in fixed income, and then slowly increase your fixed-income portion while trimming equity exposure.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

Gold futures fell $47, or 1.1%, to $4431.10 a troy ounce, trimming year-to-date gains to 2.4%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

He immediately went to work clearing warehouses of unsold inventory and trimming down Apple’s list of suppliers.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026

She walked until she ran into Mariam, who shot her a cheerless glance and went back to slicing the stem off a bell pepper and trimming strips of fat from meat.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

Related Words

• clip
• curtail
• cut
• cut back
• cut down
• mow
• pare
• prune
• shave
• shear
• shorten
• whittle down