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shim
[ shim ]
/ ʃɪm /
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noun
a thin slip or wedge of metal, wood, etc., for driving into crevices, as between machine parts to compensate for wear, or beneath bedplates, large stones, etc., to level them.
verb (used with object), shimmed, shim·ming.
to fill out or bring to a level by inserting a shim or shims.
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Origin of shim
First recorded in 1715–25; origin uncertain
Words nearby shim
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use shim in a sentence
And the roster is topped off with fan favorites like Meleana Shim and Jessica McDonald.
Portland Is Ground Zero for the Best Women’s Soccer in the World|Evelyn Shoop|June 30, 2014|DAILY BEASTThe men on the wrench then back off and the horseshoe shim supports the weight of the machine.
Steam Turbines|Hubert E. CollinsA thin steel shim could then be inserted to make the necessary correction (fig. 5).
Elevator Systems of the Eiffel Tower, 1889|Robert M. VogelNo, the big elevation rudder was still in place, but it seemed to have no effect on the shim.
Tom Swift and his Airship|Victor Appleton
British Dictionary definitions for shim
shim
/ (ʃɪm) /
noun
a thin packing strip or washer often used with a number of similar washers or strips to adjust a clearance for gears, etc
physics a thin strip of magnetic material, such as soft iron, used to adjust a magnetic field
verb shims, shimming or shimmed
(tr) to modify a load, clearance, or magnetic field by the use of shims
Word Origin for shim
C18: origin unknown
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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