dim
adjective
not bright; obscure from lack of light or emitted light.
dim
1 American
[dim]
/ dɪm /
adjective
-
dimmer,
comparative
-
dimmest
superlative
-
not bright; obscure from lack of light or emitted light.
a dim room; a dim flashlight.
-
not seen clearly or in detail; indistinct.
a dim object in the distance.
-
not clear to the mind; vague.
a dim idea.
- Synonyms:
- hazy, fuzzy, indistinct, indefinite, faint, unclear
-
not brilliant; dull in luster.
a dim color.
-
not clear or distinct to the senses; faint.
a dim sound.
-
not seeing clearly.
eyes dim with tears.
-
tending to be unfavorable; not likely to happen, succeed, be favorable, etc..
a dim chance of winning.
-
not understanding clearly.
-
rather stupid; dim-witted.
verb (used with object)
-
dims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dimmed,
past participle, past
-
dimming
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
dims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dimmed,
past participle, past
-
dimming
present participle
verb phrase
idioms
dim.
2
American
abbreviation
dim.
3
American
abbreviation
-
dimension.
-
diminish.
-
diminuendo.
-
diminutive.
dim
British
/ dɪm /
adjective
-
badly illuminated
a dim room
-
not clearly seen; indistinct; faint
a dim shape
-
having weak or indistinct vision
eyes dim with tears
-
lacking in understanding; mentally dull
-
not clear in the mind; obscure
a dim memory
-
lacking in brilliance, brightness, or lustre
a dim colour
-
tending to be unfavourable; gloomy or disapproving (esp in the phrase take a dim view )
verb
-
to become or cause to become dim
-
(tr) to cause to seem less bright, as by comparison
-
Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): dip. (tr) to switch (car headlights) from the main to the lower beam
dim
More Idioms
Usage
What does dim mean? Dim describes something as lacking light or having a weak brightness, as in a dim flashlight or a dim tunnel. Dim also describes things that are unclear, because of poor visibility, a weak understanding, or a more general lack of clarity, as in a dim shape in the distance, a dim noise, or a dim knowledge of math. Dim also describes having weak or poor vision, as in Jane’s eyes were dim with tears. Dim can be used to mean lacking mental ability or having low intelligence. However, this is almost always considered insulting. As a verb, dim means to make something dim or less bright, as in He dimmed the lights. It can also be used to mean to grow dim or dimmer, as in The noise of the engine dimmed as the car drove out of sight. Example: Although the tunnel was dim, the faint candlelight guided the miner back to the surface.
Synonym Usage
See dark.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dimsimple
-
dimssimple
-
have dimmedperfect
-
has dimmedperfect
-
am dimmingprogressive
-
are dimmingprogressive
-
is dimmingprogressive
-
have been dimmingperfect progressive
-
has been dimmingperfect progressive
Past
-
dimmedsimple
-
had dimmedperfect
-
was dimmingprogressive
-
were dimmingprogressive
-
had been dimmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dim1
before 1000; Middle English, Old English dim ( me ), cognate with Old Frisian dim, Old Norse dimmr
Origin of dim.2
From the Latin word dīmidius
Explanation
Dim has several meanings related to a lack of light, hope, or knowledge. A room that is not well lit is dim, a slow thinker is dim, and when life looks hopeless, your prospects are dim. To dim a light is to dull it, like by putting a shade over it. A vague idea without a lot of specifics is also dim, since it's hard to see or understand the idea. Someone who's not very bright is dim or a dimwit. When things are hopeless, they're dim too. For example, if a football team is losing by fifty points, their chances of winning are dim.
Vocabulary lists containing dim
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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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:
Wu worked with biologists and used dim red light and a customised fisheye lens to minimise disturbance.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
That means we can judge the distance to them from how dim they appear to us.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
And, with the museum’s dim lighting, dated technology and underutilized areas, it can feel at times as if one is wandering in a past-its-prime shopping mall or in the forgotten corner of an airport terminal.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
Dressed in full pads, we were instructed to sit in dim, dead silence, staring straight ahead, while the stereo blared “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Even in the dim light, I could see that it was old, warped and scratched from years of rain and snow and heat.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
“It was looking pretty dim. Fifty-two, and you die right there, on your own property? That’s pretty sad. This gives a whole new meaning to life right now.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2023
"The establishment is saying if you don't go to college, your soul is lost and your future is quite dim. We are saying you can have perfectly fulfilling careers outside that path."
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2015
Parry spent many of his nights alone in his ascetic bedroom, the lights dim. his weighty frame slack on the bed.
From Time Magazine Archive
To outsiders he might seem a dim. ineffectual visionary, but to them he was a genuine Messiah.
From Time Magazine Archive
Gently, Penelope asked, “Forgive me, my lady, but are you certain it was your husband? He appeared so briefly, and the room was so dim. . . .”
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
The contradiction between a relatively warm early Earth and a cooler, dimmer Sun is known as the Faint Young Sun paradox.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
Actor, singer and "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane wrote on X that "the world is a dimmer place without her."
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
He said you could feel the temperature dropping and the light getting dimmer, before what looked like a crescent moon appeared, except it was a "crescent sun".
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
That prospect was growing dimmer a few years later when playwrights such as Suzan-Lori Parks and Lynn Nottage came into prominence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Emma realized the crowd noise seemed dimmer now, more distant.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Hegseth, on the other hand, is among the dimmest.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
A 6.5 magnitude is generally the dimmest object the human eye can see.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2024
Such demolitions typically cause a much brighter display and rarely last longer than a year, so it would have to be the longest and dimmest so far.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 17, 2024
The moon will set near midnight, allowing even the dimmest of shooting stars to shine in 2024.
From Seattle Times ● May 14, 2024
Bracing myself against the wall, I drew out my hand lamp and thumbed it on to its dimmest setting.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
In privacy mode, the device dims those wide pixels, while the narrow pixels emit light only at your face.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
Younger people have a generally sunnier starting point but that dims as they age - not a great surprise - and all age groups react to events similarly.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026
But Strong is the one who finds an unlikely frequency — tragedy? — for what might have been an “SNL” skit, as Cohn’s roar dims with AIDS-related illness.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2024
If an exoplanet passes in front of its star as seen by an observer, it dims the starlight.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 12, 2024
You could almost feel the temperature of the room drop, like the way light dims whenever a cloud floats in front of the sun.
From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds
When two MAX jets suffered fatal crashes within months of each other in 2018 and 2019, his enthusiasm dimmed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
The April ceasefire put an end to the most intense fighting, but sporadic attacks -- mainly around the Strait of Hormuz -- have dimmed prospects for a final peace agreement.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
With the overhead lights dimmed and soft light spilling from the dioramas, the displays looked like windows to other worlds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
A vital warning from experts is to avoid looking at the sun even when it appears to have dimmed during the eclipse.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
At once he was aware that hearing was sharpened while sight was dimmed, but otherwise than in Shelob’s lair.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
German exports fell again in August, pointing to volatility in international demand and dimming hopes that trade will underpin the country’s economic growth this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Some Nepali families who were searching for their missing loved ones had begun holding symbolic funerals in the last few days, in a sign of dimming hope for survivors.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Gold prices held below $4,500 a troy ounce as a global selloff in government bonds raised the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate hike, dimming the attractiveness of the metal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Because the evolved supergiant is expected to eventually end its life in a supernova explosion, the dramatic dimming prompted speculation that the star might be preparing to explode.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
From her bed, she could see his large-framed body, his long legs, the smoke swirling around his hook-nosed profile, the amber tip of his cigarette brightening and dimming.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
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