rim
noun
the outer edge, border, margin, or brink of something, especially of a circular object.
rim
American
[rim]
/ rɪm /
noun
-
rims
plural
-
the outer edge, border, margin, or brink of something, especially of a circular object.
- Antonyms:
- center
-
any edge, margin, or frame added to or around a central object or area.
-
the outer circle of a wheel, attached to the hub by spokes.
-
a circular strip of metal forming the connection between an automobile wheel and tire, either permanently attached to or removable from the wheel.
-
a drive wheel or flywheel, as on a spinning mule.
-
Basketball. the metal ring from which the net is suspended to form the basket.
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Journalism. the outer edge of a usually U -shaped copy desk, occupied by the copyreaders.
-
Metallurgy. (in an ingot) an outer layer of metal having a composition different from that of the center.
verb (used with object)
-
rims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rimmed,
past participle, past
-
rimming
present participle
-
to furnish with a rim, border, or margin.
-
(of a golf ball or putt) to roll around the edge of (a hole) but not go in.
-
Basketball. (of a basketball) to roll around (the rim of the basket) and not go in.
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to coat or encrust the rim of (a glass).
Rim each cocktail glass with salt.
rim
1
British
/ rɪm /
noun
-
the raised edge of an object, esp of something more or less circular such as a cup or crater
-
the peripheral part of a wheel, to which the tyre is attached
-
basketball the hoop from which the net is suspended
verb
-
to put a rim on (a pot, cup, wheel, etc)
-
slang to lick, kiss, or suck the anus of (one's sexual partner)
-
ball games (of a ball) to run around the edge of (a hole, basket, etc)
RIM
2
British
abbreviation
Synonym Usage
Rim, brim refer to the boundary of a circular or curved area. A rim is a line or surface bounding such an area; an edge or border: the rim of a glass. Brim usually means the inside of the rim, at the top of a hollow object (except of a hat), and is used particularly when the object contains something: The cup was filled to the brim.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
rimsimple
-
rimssimple
-
have rimmedperfect
-
has rimmedperfect
-
am rimmingprogressive
-
are rimmingprogressive
-
is rimmingprogressive
-
have been rimmingperfect progressive
-
has been rimmingperfect progressive
Past
-
rimmedsimple
-
had rimmedperfect
-
was rimmingprogressive
-
were rimmingprogressive
-
had been rimmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rim
First recorded before 1150; Middle English; Old English -rima (in compounds); cognate with Old Norse rimi “raised strip of land, ridge”
Explanation
A rim is an edge. The rim of a mug is where you put your mouth to drink hot chocolate, and the rim holding a basketball net is where you're aiming when you shoot the ball. People often use the word rim for the lip of a cup or bowl. You can also use the word rim for the circle at the top of a basketball hoop. There's also the rim of a wheel — the part the tire is attached to — and the rim of your eyeglasses. Rim comes from the Old English rima, "edge," which appears in the Old English word særima, "seashore," or "rim of the sea."
Vocabulary lists containing rim
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:
Images that clearly showed the crater rim allowed researchers to measure its width at about 60 feet.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
The brighter streaks that hug the crater's rim were fresh material excavated from deeper underground.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Then, as the Sun is completely blocked, a pearly-white rim will appear around it.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Just the sight of the glasses, dewy with condensation on the outside and filled to the rim with clinking ice, nearly chilled my body.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Towering cypress, cottonwood, and elm trees rim the pasture, hovering over clumps of dogwood trees, which, come summer, will bloom white, pink, and red.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
After the acquisition in 2010, many engineers moved over to RIM to build a mobile operating system for the BlackBerry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Recently fired and fired up, Jim sees the device’s potential, making a deal to acquire part of RIM in exchange for cash and expertise.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2023
Both Balsillie and Lazaridis left RIM in 2012.
From Seattle Times ● May 10, 2023
I actually turned RIM down three times before I took a job there.
From BusinessWeek ● Dec. 5, 2013
RIM is certainly hoping that the late-March release of the Z10 will reverse its fortunes this quarter, but it has a long way to go in reaching the heights of its heyday.
From Forbes ● Jun. 11, 2013
That low angle means crater rims, mountains, ridges, and even small surface bumps can block sunlight from reaching lower terrain.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
Four times a year, America’s publicly traded companies line up for a dunk contest on lowered rims called earnings season.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025
Its wheels’ gold rims, capped with smiley faces, are emblazoned with the platitude “Where Dreams Are Made,” while the whole thing is ornamented with piped-icing filigree.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
Combs would regularly bring "random women" there to party, turning up with an entourage of dozens of people in "three white jeeps, with white rims and white leather seats", they say.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2025
A full basketball court with regulation lines and nets for the rims sat next to a beautiful wooden gazebo.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Except for one picked cuticle on a fingernail, which was ever so slightly rimmed with blood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025
Prosper, who wore a grey T-shirt, attended his hearing wearing black rimmed glasses.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2025
Gradey Dick scored 31 points and had a look to cut it to three with less than a minute, but the shot rimmed out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2024
A few weeks later, Lil comes into the store to see me, her eyes red- rimmed, tears staining her cheeks.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
Beyond the museum, the grassy hills rimming the building will also be expanded and extended because Angelenos—children and adults—have a beloved tradition of rolling down them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
The Pelicans tied it emphatically, on a Williamson lob dunk, after another in a stretch of broken possessions ended with Reaves rimming out a 35-footer with the Lakers deep into the shot clock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2024
Beside her, Ryder, gray hairs rimming his eyes, cropped grass on the lawn of his new home, untethered and, without a fence around him, free.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2022
There’s no game plan that will get Randle’s shots to stop rimming out if he’s open.
From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2022
The trees rimming the outfield were flaunting their colors.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
