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

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

The government secured guilty pleas in December from two advisors who worked with alongside her to skim money from Becerra.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

I’ll skim a monologue like a speed reader, then I go back to look at specific words.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025

Beyond Rufus, Amazon’s AI helps sellers to make their pitches more presentable, and shoppers use it to get fit recommendations, skim highlights of customer reviews, and search for objects by pointing their cameras at them.

From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025

She blinked and began to skim through the chapters of his life.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

Think of it as a highly subjective road-trip mixtape that skims through history, one that pauses to consider something remarkable unfolding in a pocket of the country at a particular time and place.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Ramsey’s book is just one arm of the multi-pronged complaints that have been lodged against her, grievances that “Shark Whisperer” only skims the surface covering.

From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2025

The screenplay hits the big moments and skims the details, but it also leaves room for director Thomas Napper to lean into flashes of lyrical dreaminess.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2024

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

He skims over the contents, any emotional impact desired by the author failing miserably and finally.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

This was not money skimmed from a contract.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 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

He skimmed much of the resulting 140-page report, and landed on one conclusion: he was bold, aggressive and decisive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

This reduction in risk applied to various types of milk, including whole, semi-skimmed and skimmed.

From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2025

He skimmed over the other passages, looking for some information about an antidote to treat the poison.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Michael Jackson showed off his signature move, the moonwalk, on television in 1983, skimming backwards across the stage to his No. 1 hit “Billie Jean.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

It’s sketched out for cynical skimming rather than deeper psychological consideration.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 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

But that is still only skimming the surface.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025

He became a dragonfly, as big as the two that were skimming through the air as they spoke, and darted up to join them.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

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