brim
1 Americannoun
-
the upper edge of anything hollow; rim; brink.
the brim of a cup.
-
a projecting edge.
the brim of a hat.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
-
the upper rim of a vessel
the brim of a cup
-
a projecting rim or edge
the brim of a hat
-
the brink or edge of something
verb
Synonym Usage
See rim.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
brimsimple
-
brimssimple
-
have brimmedperfect
-
has brimmedperfect
-
am brimmingprogressive
-
are brimmingprogressive
-
is brimmingprogressive
-
have been brimmingperfect progressive
-
has been brimmingperfect progressive
Past
-
brimmedsimple
-
had brimmedperfect
-
was brimmingprogressive
-
were brimmingprogressive
-
had been brimmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of brim
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English brimme “brink, rim” (earlier, “shore, bank”); apparently akin to Middle High German brem, ( German Bräme ), Old Norse barmr “rim, edge”
Explanation
The brim is the top of a container, like the edge of a cup. Also, if a cup is brimming, it’s full. This word has a couple meanings related to fullness. If a cup is full, it’s filled to the brim. The brim is the top. Containers such as buckets and pitchers have brims too. Also, the bucket is brimming if it's totally full. A brimming container is likely to spill. People can brim too: you can be brimming with enthusiasm or happiness. Like a cup about to spill, you can’t quite contain yourself when you’re brimming with joy.
Vocabulary lists containing brim
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 2
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"Birches" by Robert Frost
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Once his win became official, Woodland looked to the sky, exhaled and pushed the brim of his cap down to cover his eyes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
The result is storage facilities that are full to the brim.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
Sumayyah Zara Sillah's eyes light up as she takes hold of a takeaway box filled to the brim with strips of golden-coated Nashville-style hot tenders, dripping with sauce.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026
The salads brim with color and vibrancy, inviting us to rethink how we nourish our bodies when we’re hit with cold weather.
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026
He takes the upside-down sunglasses off the brim of Ben-Ben’s cap and then grabs the pair off Malik’s.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
Mr. Elliott’s narrative brims with enthusiasm for its subject.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
The results are childlike at times — parts of “La Noche” and “Lo_Divino” sound like nursery rhymes — while the nakedness of “Volvieron” brims with a solemn, ageless kind of grace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025
Consign Design traffics in luxury labels like Brunello, Prada, Gucci and Hermès, along with top-drawer skiwear, while Capelet Consign brims with AG, Theory, Veronica Beard and Ulla Johnson.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025
The film brims with coconut gags: Param and Sundari first meet by a tree, she vents her anger by furiously harvesting coconuts, and he finally confesses his love from atop one.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2025
They too wore dark glasses, their hats were set high upon their heads, the brims turned down.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
And social media brimmed with foreign fans admiring the US way of life.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
The three Graham works I caught brimmed with powerful physicality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
Gov. Gavin Newsom brimmed with confidence about Proposition 1 in January as he sat in a Costa Mesa Motel 6 room that was converted into housing for homeless veterans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2024
The scientists brimmed with excitement over the potentially life-altering medical applications of such a device — restoring communication to people with locked-in syndrome, for instance, whose near full-body paralysis made talking impossible.
From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2024
He wore expensive, double-breasted American suits and wide- brimmed hats, and paid a great deal of attention to his appearance.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Sharp, fearless and brimming with confidence, Lamine Yamal drifted past defenders with ease and injected life into Spain's attack.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Leaning on a burlap bag brimming with gum arabic, Ahmad pointed to a map on a journalist’s phone to show the circuitous path he took to get here.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
Most of the questions and answers were about training and diet, the preparation required to make a film brimming with sheer, unadulterated masculinity.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
The first quarter is peak for the gym industry, as potential new members are brimming with fitness-focused New Year’s resolutions.
From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026
This realization began to simmer inside him, slowly at first, but then faster and fiercer, until he was hot and brimming with it.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
