slim
[slim]
- slender, as in girth or form; slight in build or structure.
- poor or inferior: a slim chance; a slim excuse.
- small or inconsiderable; meager; scanty: a slim income.
- sized for the thinner than average person.
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- to make slim.
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- to become slim.
- Chiefly British. to try to become more slender, especially by dieting.
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- a garment size meant for a thin person.
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- slim down,
- to lose weight, especially intentionally.
- (of a business) to reduce operating expenses; economize.
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Origin of slim
1650–60; < Dutch slim sly, (earlier) crooked (cognate with German schlimm bad, (earlier) crooked)
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for slim
Contemporary Examples
He was one of living symbols of “White Ribbon Revolution” of 2012, always in black, slim, shaved, almost a monk.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015Movements.Org
December 25, 2014
Slim turned Bush down, and Lehman filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, just weeks before the presidential election.
It was slim, about “fifty to sixty pages,” according to Bradlee, and mostly concerned with her paintings.
For months, first term Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan has managed to cling to slim lead that has defied national factors.
Stangneth probes his affairs in Argentina, including with Ingrid von Ihne, “tall, blond, and slim, with a cold beauty.”
Nothing Was Banal About Eichmann’s Evil, Says a Scathing New BiographyMichael Signer
October 11, 2014
Historical Examples
Sidney considered, poking a slim finger into the little holes in the box.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
"Yes, that was another of Jack's fool schemes," put in Slim.
Chip, of the Flying UB. M. Bower
Slim made a few hasty passes at his hair and said he was ready.
Chip, of the Flying UB. M. Bower
Linda folded her slim hands on the table and leaned forward.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
The Countess knows—and have Slim bring something to carry him home on.
Chip, of the Flying UB. M. Bower
slim
- small in width relative to height or length
- small in amount or qualityslim chances of success
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- to make or become slim, esp by diets and exercise
- to reduce or decrease or cause to be reduced or decreased
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See also slim down
Word Origin
C17: from Dutch: crafty, from Middle Dutch slimp slanting; compare Old High German slimbi obliquity
Slim1
- the E African name for AIDS
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Word Origin
from its wasting effects
Slim2
- William Joseph, 1st Viscount. 1891–1970, British field marshal, who commanded (1943–45) the 14th Army in the reconquest of Burma (now called Myanmar) from the Japanese; governor general of Australia (1953–60)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for slim
adj.
1650s, "thin, slight, slender," from Dutch slim "bad, sly, clever," from Middle Dutch slim "bad, crooked," from Proto-Germanic *slembaz "oblique, crooked" (cf. Middle High German slimp "slanting, awry," German schlimm "bad, cunning, unwell"). In English 17c. also sometimes with a sense "sly, cunning, crafty." Related: Slimly; slimness. With obsolete extended adjectival forms Slimsy "flimsy, unsubstantial" (1845); slimikin "small and slender" (1745). Slim Jim attested from 1887 in sense of "very thin person;" from 1902 as a type of slender cigar; from 1975 as a brand of meat snack.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper