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rim

[rim]
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noun
  1. the outer edge, border, margin, or brink of something, especially of a circular object.
  2. any edge, margin, or frame added to or around a central object or area.
  3. the outer circle of a wheel, attached to the hub by spokes.
  4. a circular strip of metal forming the connection between an automobile wheel and tire, either permanently attached to or removable from the wheel.
  5. a drive wheel or flywheel, as on a spinning mule.
  6. Basketball. the metal ring from which the net is suspended to form the basket.
  7. Journalism. the outer edge of a usually U-shaped copy desk, occupied by the copyreaders.Compare slot1(def 5b).
  8. Metallurgy. (in an ingot) an outer layer of metal having a composition different from that of the center.
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verb (used with object), rimmed, rim·ming.
  1. to furnish with a rim, border, or margin.
  2. (of a golf ball or putt) to roll around the edge of (a hole) but not go in.
  3. Basketball. (of a basketball) to roll around (the rim of the basket) and not go in.
  4. to coat or encrust the rim of (a glass): Rim each cocktail glass with salt.
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Origin of rim

before 1150; Middle English; Old English -rima (in compounds); cognate with Old Norse rimi raised strip of land, ridge
Related formsrim·less, adjective

Synonyms

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1. lip, verge. 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.

Antonyms

1. center.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

negligibleminorminimalinsignificantmeetreachtouchfollowscoreadjoincircleenclosesurroundinundatebesiegeenvelopringencircleabutflank

Examples from the Web for rimming

Historical Examples

  • Rimming the rivers with red, the new shoots of the willows appeared.

    The Whelps of the Wolf

    George Marsh

British Dictionary definitions for rimming

rim

noun
  1. the raised edge of an object, esp of something more or less circular such as a cup or crater
  2. the peripheral part of a wheel, to which the tyre is attached
  3. basketball the hoop from which the net is suspended
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verb rims, rimming or rimmed (tr)
  1. to put a rim on (a pot, cup, wheel, etc)
  2. slang to lick, kiss, or suck the anus of (one's sexual partner)
  3. ball games (of a ball) to run around the edge of (a hole, basket, etc)
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Word Origin

Old English rima; related to Old Saxon rimi, Old Norse rimi ridge

RIM

abbreviation for
  1. Mauritania (international car registration)
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Word Origin

From République Islamique de Mauritanie
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rimming

rim

n.

Old English rima "edge, border, verge, coast," as in særima "seashore," literally "rim of the sea," and dægrima "dawn," literally "rim of the day." Related to Old Norse rime, rimi "a raised strip of land, ridge," Old Frisian rim "edge," but with no other known cognates. The snare drummer's rim shot (striking the rim and the head at once) is recorded from 1934.

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rim

v.

1794, "to fit with a rim," from rim (n.). Sexual senses from 1920s, some perhaps influenced by ream (v.). Related: Rimmed; rimming.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
rimming in Medicine

rim

(rĭm)
n.
  1. The border, edge, or margin of an organ or a part.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.