skim

American  

[skim] / skɪm /

verb (used with object)

• skims,
  present (3rd person singular)
• skimmed,
  past participle,  past
• skimming
  present participle

1. to take up or remove (floating matter) from the surface of a liquid, as with a spoon or ladle.

   to skim the cream from milk.

2. to clear (liquid) thus.

   to skim milk.

3. to move or glide lightly over or along (a surface, as of water).

   The sailboat skimmed the lake.

4. to throw in a smooth, gliding path over or near a surface, or so as to bounce or ricochet along a surface.

   to skim a stone across the lake.

5. to read, study, consider, treat, etc., in a superficial or cursory manner.

   Synonyms:

   scan

6. to cover, as a liquid, with a thin film or layer.

   Ice skimmed the lake at night.

7. to take the best or most available parts or items from.

   Bargain hunters skimmed the flea markets early in the morning.

8. to take (the best or most available parts or items) from something.

   The real bargains had been skimmed by early shoppers.

9. Metallurgy. to remove (slag, scum, or dross) from the surface of molten metal.

10. Slang. to conceal a portion of (winnings, earnings, etc.) in order to avoid paying income taxes, commissions, or the like on the actual total revenue (sometimes followed byoff ).

    The casino skimmed two million a year.

11. to appropriate (credit or debit card information) electronically for illegal use.

    A hidden device can skim your account number while you’re pumping gas, paying for groceries, etc.

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verb (used without object)

• skims,
  present (3rd person singular)
• skimmed,
  past participle,  past
• skimming
  present participle

1. to pass or glide lightly over or near a surface.

2. to read, study, consider, etc., something in a superficial or cursory way.

   Synonyms:

   glance

3. to become covered with a thin film or layer.

4. Slang. to conceal gambling or other profits so as to avoid paying taxes, etc.; practice skimming.

noun

1. an act or instance of skimming.

2. something that is skimmed off.

3. a thin layer or film formed on the surface of something, especially a liquid, as the coagulated protein material formed on boiled milk.

4. a thin layer, as of mortar.

5. Slang. the amount taken or concealed by skimming.

6. skim milk.

7. Obsolete. scum.

skim British  

/ skɪm /

verb

1. (tr) to remove floating material from the surface of (a liquid), as with a spoon

   to skim milk

2. to glide smoothly or lightly over (a surface)

3. (tr) to throw (something) in a path over a surface, so as to bounce or ricochet

   to skim stones over water

4. to read (a book) in a superficial or cursory manner

5. to cover (a liquid) with a thin layer or (of liquid) to become coated in this way, as with ice, scum, etc

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noun

1. the act or process of skimming

2. material skimmed off a liquid, esp off milk

3. the liquid left after skimming

4. any thin layer covering a surface

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unskimmed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• skimming
  present
• skimmed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• skim
  simple
• skims
  simple
• have skimmed
  perfect
• has skimmed
  perfect
• am skimming
  progressive
• are skimming
  progressive
• is skimming
  progressive
• have been skimming
  perfect progressive
• has been skimming
  perfect progressive

Past

• skimmed
  simple
• had skimmed
  perfect
• was skimming
  progressive
• were skimming
  progressive
• had been skimming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will skim
  simple
• will have skimmed
  perfect
• will be skimming
  progressive
• will have been skimming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of skim

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English skymen, skemen, variant of scumen “to skim,” perhaps from Old French escumer “to remove scum”; see scum

Explanation

To skim is to remove something from the surface of a liquid. Some cooks skim the fat off of the top of their chicken noodle soup, others skim the cream off milk to make skim (or skimmed) milk. Cream is what you skim off the surface of milk, and if you don't like the whipped version, you might skim it from your hot chocolate. Another way to use the word skim is to mean "read quickly," like when you skim the newspaper, catching just the headlines as you search for the comics section. Skim has an Old French root, escumer, "remove scum," from escume, "scum." The "glance through a book" meaning came later, in the late 1700’s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

skim skims skimmed skimming

Can I suggest you read, or at least skim, Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”?

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

It had been hoped Bluebird would reach sufficient speed to allow it to "plane" - the point at which hydrodynamics enable the machine to skim across the surface of the lake.

From BBC ● May 17, 2026

“If my remaking was skim plaster, she feared, it would crumble. It would not hold me into adulthood.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2026

If you’re trying to lose weight or lower your cholesterol, skim milk is better than full-fat.

From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2026

He scans the murky water for the green snakes that sometimes skim across the waves.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle, it skims along the earth’s atmosphere and can maneuver, making it less predictable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 7, 2025

Ben Duckett clips Will Porter off his pads and the ball skims away for his first four of the day.

From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2024

While baggier hems are more popular, Turner Allen, 31, a stylist, suggests wearing a pant that skims the top of the shoe: in denim he suggests a quarter- or half-break.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 3, 2024

Biskind is just about incapable of being boring, and “Pandora’s Box” skims along with snarky vigor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2023

My finger skims the cities of Yangon, near the coast, and Mandalay, the darker mountainous region farther north.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

Lately, though, so many good business and financial books have been coming out that I’ve been reading a bunch of them, and I’ve at least skimmed everything in my growing pile.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm hammered a four-seam fastball that skimmed the top of the strike zone over the center-field wall in the first inning.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026

Where this story takes place — which metaphysical realm it’s actually set in — is skimmed over entirely.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026

Based between an ancient burial mound and a rusting tin hut, the men stood on top of a nuclear fallout bunker, while aircraft skimmed them at terrifyingly low altitudes.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2025

The Lady Salmakia flicked the rein, and her dragonfly skimmed away from Lyra’s shoulder to land on the gunwale of the boat, where Tialys joined her.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Readers less enrapt about the details of these might find themselves skimming sections about them, or those about operating-system updates and later iMac models.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

Cleanup teams are skimming and pumping oil from the tributary and deploying absorbent booms and pads to recover oil trapped along the creek bed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025

The world stone skimming championships have been rocked by a cheating scandal, after several competitors were disqualified for tampering.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2025

And those looks are just skimming the surface.

From Salon ● May 6, 2025

They stepped off the black road and into the knee-high grass, swishing their legs through the stems, watching the insects hovering, darting, fluttering, skimming, hearing the million-voiced chorus chirrup and scrape.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• browse
• flip through
• glance
• leaf through
• scan
• skip
• thumb through