scrim

[skrim]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scrim ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a cotton or linen fabric of open weave used for bunting, curtains, etc.

Theater. a piece of such fabric used as a drop, border, or the like, for creating the illusion of a solid wall or backdrop under certain lighting conditions or creating a semitransparent curtain when lit from behind.

Origin of scrim

First recorded in 1785–95; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for scrim

scenery, backdrop, cloth, drop, tab

Examples from the Web for scrim

Contemporary Examples of scrim

To my horror, he was romping with a girl on a white beach, a scrim of sand dusting her tan skin.
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’
Eileen Cronin
April 8, 2014
The endless succession of quotation marks is its own contrivance, a scrim between Shields and the world.
Is Fiction Worthless? David Shields Think So
Jacob Silverman
February 8, 2013
He layered a scrim of black chiffon over lingerie-style dresses in red, and he adorned a bare, purple slip dress with gems.
Paris Fall Fashion Week 2012: A Finale at Yves Saint Laurent
Robin Givhan
March 7, 2012

Historical Examples of scrim

Well, I was ready for any scrim of a shortage—I mean any sort of a scrimmage.
Frank Merriwell's Races
Burt L. Standish
She asked this question after she had shown the scrim curtains she had found and brought home with her.
The Daughter of the Storage
William Dean Howells
I've lost my check-book somewhere in the scrim, and so I wonder if you'd send her some money.
The Return of the Soldier
Rebecca West
Both of them, peering through the scrim curtains, saw a tall white figure disappear into the spring-house.
A Woman Named Smith
Marie Conway Oemler
Take a square of scrim or Hardanger canvas eight inches large.
The Library of Work and Play: Needlecraft
Effie Archer Archer

British Dictionary definitions for scrim

scrim

noun

an open-weave muslin or hessian fabric, used in upholstery, lining, building, and in the theatre to create the illusion of a solid wall or to suggest haziness, etc, according to the lighting

Word Origin for scrim

C18: origin unknown

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 scrim

"upholstery lining," 1792, of unknown origin.