skimmer
Americannoun
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a person or thing that skims: an adept stone skimmer.
skimmers who just glance at the text;
an adept stone skimmer.
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a shallow utensil, usually perforated, used in skimming liquids.
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an electronic device used surreptitiously to appropriate information from the magnetic strip on a credit or debit card for illegal use.
Authorities have verified that skimmers were secretly installed at several local gas pumps.
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any of several gull-like birds of the family Rynchopidae, that skim the water with the elongated lower mandible immersed while in search of food.
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a stiff, wide-brimmed hat with a shallow flat crown, usually made of straw.
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a woman's A-line dress with side darts that shape it slightly to the body.
noun
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a person or thing that skims
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any of several mainly tropical coastal aquatic birds of the genus Rhynchops, having long narrow wings and a bill with an elongated lower mandible for skimming food from the surface of the water: family Rynchopidae, order Charadriiformes
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a flat perforated spoon used for skimming fat from liquids
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of skimmer
First recorded in 1350–1400; skim + -er 1; replacing Middle English skemour, skymour, variants of schumour, from Middle French (e)scumoir “ladle for skimming”; see scum
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dozens of bright red flame skimmer dragonflies chase around a hand-dug pond and rubble-strewn stream.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2024
The Navy has also kept a skimmer on standby so it can remove any pollutants quickly.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 27, 2023
She also bagged the top female open stone skimmer title at the Welsh championships held at Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, in June 2022.
From BBC • Sep. 1, 2023
Fry a few pakoras at a time for 5 to 7 minutes, turning the pakora occasionally with a skimmer or slotted spoon to promote even browning.
From Salon • Jun. 28, 2023
Johnny cocked his skimmer over one eye, put his hands in his pockets and did a waltz clog there on the sidewalk.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
