skimming
Americannoun
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Usually skimmings. floating matter that is removed from the surface of a liquid.
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Metallurgy. skimmings, dross.
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Slang. the practice of concealing gambling or other profits so as to avoid paying taxes, commissions, etc..
An audit of their cleaning business uncovered several years of skimming.
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the practice of electronically appropriating account numbers or other confidential data for illegal use.
A chip is embedded in the credit card to prevent skimming.
Etymology
Origin of skimming
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English skemmyng; see skim, -ing 1
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.
It’s sketched out for cynical skimming rather than deeper psychological consideration.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
When reading this advert, you would be forgiven for skimming over the words "first-steps", as a turn of phrase.
From BBC • Nov. 9, 2025
The shimmering and pellucid choreographic poem presents its central woman as if arriving on a breeze by way of skimming steps on pointe and ultimately exiting as breezily as she arrived.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 13, 2025
Instead of casually wading into the shallow end, skimming the surface with tepid bits of history about Mansfield’s life and career, Hargitay opts for a cannonball.
From Salon • Jun. 27, 2025
Shay was skimming just above the torrent, so low that she lifted a wake every time she banked.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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.
