the outer edge, border, margin, or brink of something, especially of a circular object.
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.
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.
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.
to coat or encrust the rim of (a glass).
Rim each cocktail glass with salt.
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
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, 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.
First recorded before 1150; Middle English; Old English -rima (in compounds); cognate with Old Norse rimi “raised strip of land, ridge”
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."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lee Rim, a 34-year-old physical therapist, said he finds it funny that big ears are suddenly in style.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
Crane visited Japan last year and decided to boost Houston's Pacific Rim presence with scouts in Tokyo, Taiwan and South Korea.
From Barron's • Jan. 6, 2026
Rim of the World, 25-8, 25-14, 17-25, 25-20 Norte Vista d.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2025
Arizona’s governor and members of Congress have called for an investigation into the Park Service’s handling of a blaze this month that leveled a historic lodge on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim.
From Salon • Jul. 24, 2025
The Rim Fire, the third-largest wildfire in California history, was sizzling toward the campsite near Groveland, turning the sky a smoky orange.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
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.
