- present participle of skim.
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
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
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
Entrant Jonathan Jennings went on to victory last week as the contest's first American winner, skimming his stones a cumulative distance of 177m.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2025
They cruised low to the ground, skimming over bushes, dodging tree trunks, and swishing past branches.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
