skim

American  

[skim] / skɪm /

verb (used with object)

skims, present (3rd person singular) skimmed, past participle, past skimming present participle

1. to take up or remove (floating matter) from the surface of a liquid, as with a spoon or ladle.

   to skim the cream from milk.

2. to clear (liquid) thus.

   to skim milk.

3. to move or glide lightly over or along (a surface, as of water).

   The sailboat skimmed the lake.

4. to throw in a smooth, gliding path over or near a surface, or so as to bounce or ricochet along a surface.

   to skim a stone across the lake.

5. to read, study, consider, treat, etc., in a superficial or cursory manner.

   Synonyms:

   scan

6. to cover, as a liquid, with a thin film or layer.

   Ice skimmed the lake at night.

7. to take the best or most available parts or items from.

   Bargain hunters skimmed the flea markets early in the morning.

8. to take (the best or most available parts or items) from something.

   The real bargains had been skimmed by early shoppers.

9. Metallurgy. to remove (slag, scum, or dross) from the surface of molten metal.

10. Slang. to conceal a portion of (winnings, earnings, etc.) in order to avoid paying income taxes, commissions, or the like on the actual total revenue (sometimes followed byoff ).

    The casino skimmed two million a year.

11. to appropriate (credit or debit card information) electronically for illegal use.

    A hidden device can skim your account number while you’re pumping gas, paying for groceries, etc.

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verb (used without object)

skims, present (3rd person singular) skimmed, past participle, past skimming present participle

1. to pass or glide lightly over or near a surface.

2. to read, study, consider, etc., something in a superficial or cursory way.

   Synonyms:

   glance

3. to become covered with a thin film or layer.

4. Slang. to conceal gambling or other profits so as to avoid paying taxes, etc.; practice skimming.

noun

1. an act or instance of skimming.

2. something that is skimmed off.

3. a thin layer or film formed on the surface of something, especially a liquid, as the coagulated protein material formed on boiled milk.

4. a thin layer, as of mortar.

5. Slang. the amount taken or concealed by skimming.

6. skim milk.

7. Obsolete. scum.

skim British  

/ skɪm /

verb

1. (tr) to remove floating material from the surface of (a liquid), as with a spoon

   to skim milk

2. to glide smoothly or lightly over (a surface)

3. (tr) to throw (something) in a path over a surface, so as to bounce or ricochet

   to skim stones over water

4. to read (a book) in a superficial or cursory manner

5. to cover (a liquid) with a thin layer or (of liquid) to become coated in this way, as with ice, scum, etc

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noun

1. the act or process of skimming

2. material skimmed off a liquid, esp off milk

3. the liquid left after skimming

4. any thin layer covering a surface

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unskimmed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• skimming
  present
• skimmed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• skim
  simple
• skims
  simple
• have skimmed
  perfect
• has skimmed
  perfect
• am skimming
  progressive
• are skimming
  progressive
• is skimming
  progressive
• have been skimming
  perfect progressive
• has been skimming
  perfect progressive

Past

• skimmed
  simple
• had skimmed
  perfect
• was skimming
  progressive
• were skimming
  progressive
• had been skimming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will skim
  simple
• will have skimmed
  perfect
• will be skimming
  progressive
• will have been skimming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of skim

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English skymen, skemen, variant of scumen “to skim,” perhaps from Old French escumer “to remove scum”; see scum

Explanation

To skim is to remove something from the surface of a liquid. Some cooks skim the fat off of the top of their chicken noodle soup, others skim the cream off milk to make skim (or skimmed) milk. Cream is what you skim off the surface of milk, and if you don't like the whipped version, you might skim it from your hot chocolate. Another way to use the word skim is to mean "read quickly," like when you skim the newspaper, catching just the headlines as you search for the comics section. Skim has an Old French root, escumer, "remove scum," from escume, "scum." The "glance through a book" meaning came later, in the late 1700’s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

skim skims skimmed skimming

Few readers would even skim a story beneath the headline “Nothing New at Arms Talks Today.”

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

I’ll skim a monologue like a speed reader, then I go back to look at specific words.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025

Beyond Rufus, Amazon’s AI helps sellers to make their pitches more presentable, and shoppers use it to get fit recommendations, skim highlights of customer reviews, and search for objects by pointing their cameras at them.

From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025

A blunt levy on remittances could skim billions from migrant workers, many of whom already pay taxes in America.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2025

It was wonderful to hear the runners sing, to feel the rush of the wind, to see the trail skim by and the dogs running with their ears laid back.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

Equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle, it skims along the earth’s atmosphere and can maneuver, making it less predictable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 7, 2025

The screenplay hits the big moments and skims the details, but it also leaves room for director Thomas Napper to lean into flashes of lyrical dreaminess.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2024

It cuts a lonely figure as it skims across the waves.

From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2024

The plane skims across the water and can load up to 800 gallons in about 15 seconds, Cuthbert said.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2023

I’ve chosen a safari outfit look for today—a white T-shirt and my favorite green jean jacket and a tan skirt that just skims my knees.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau

Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm hammered a four-seam fastball that skimmed the top of the strike zone over the center-field wall in the first inning.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026

Morning after morning, residents would retrieve the bottles of milk on their stoops only to find that a thief had skimmed off the cream.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

Based between an ancient burial mound and a rusting tin hut, the men stood on top of a nuclear fallout bunker, while aircraft skimmed them at terrifyingly low altitudes.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2025

This reduction in risk applied to various types of milk, including whole, semi-skimmed and skimmed.

From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2025

As Fadi skimmed the paragraphs, he learned that Millicent Chao was a graduate of Stanford University and had double majored in architecture and East Asian history.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

Readers less enrapt about the details of these might find themselves skimming sections about them, or those about operating-system updates and later iMac models.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

The shimmering and pellucid choreographic poem presents its central woman as if arriving on a breeze by way of skimming steps on pointe and ultimately exiting as breezily as she arrived.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025

Entrant Jonathan Jennings went on to victory last week as the contest's first American winner, skimming his stones a cumulative distance of 177m.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2025

Instead of casually wading into the shallow end, skimming the surface with tepid bits of history about Mansfield’s life and career, Hargitay opts for a cannonball.

From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2025

As the turnoff to the railroad approached, Tally increased her speed, skimming the water as fast as she dared.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Related Words

• browse
• flip through
• glance
• leaf through
• scan
• skip
• thumb through