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.
to become slim.
Chiefly British. to try to become more slender, especially by dieting.
small in width relative to height or length
small in amount or quality
slim chances of success
to make or become slim, esp by diets and exercise
to reduce or decrease or cause to be reduced or decreased
See slender.
1650–60; < Dutch slim sly, (earlier) crooked (cognate with German schlimm bad, (earlier) crooked)
Anything slim is thin or narrow. So, your sister may be considered slim, and you could also have "a slim chance" of winning the lottery. Slim people are slender, and slim things are usually delicate, like a slim watch band. You can also use slim to describe a margin or a chance: "There was only a slim likelihood that the home team would win this game." Back in the early 1800s, to slim meant "to do one's work carelessly," and in the seventeenth century, the adjective was also used to mean "sly or crafty."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Prospects of a ceasefire with Russia remain slim and Ukraine faces another harsh winter of war.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The most daring, the most violent, the "person in the top gear", as one 23-year-old put it, has a chance -- albeit slim -- of rising through the ranks.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Chances are slim this structure will change soon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Jeans remain the core of Levi’s business, and skinny, slim, bootcut and straight fits still make up the bulk of its bottoms segment.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
My reserves were slim after traveling here and getting set up.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Slim hopes: Will anyone deny Pogacar fifth Tour title?
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Conagra is known for grocery-aisle staples like Slim Jim, Reddi-wip, and Marie Callender’s.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
Slim and silver-haired, he started out as an investment banker working with oil-and-gas businesses and was elevated to run the energy banking group by Todd Maclin, a former executive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
There’s an old gambler’s aphorism beloved by wise souls from Amarillo Slim to Warren Buffett that warns: “If you look around the poker table and can’t identify the mark, it’s you.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
“These guys jus’ come,” said Slim by way of introduction.
From "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
“It’s becoming a slimmer and slimmer slice of residents” that Reach can serve, she said.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
While that’s a slimmer beat than the quarterly revenue result, keep in mind the company’s sales have averaged 5% above projections in the last 10 quarters, according to FactSet.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
The U.S. strategic crude stockpiles are dwindling at a record pace and are approaching their lowest in more than four decades — but concerns about slimmer reserves may be overblown.
From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026
But for “middle restaurants” — between fast-casual spots without extensive table service and high-level tasting menus — restaurateurs often make up for the slimmer margins with volume.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026
Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
Keiko Fujimori won the June 7 presidential runoff by the slimmest of margins, outpolling leftist Roberto Sanchez by fewer than 50,000 votes out of the more than 18 million ballots cast, the final results showed.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Overall, reports Roll Call, “in a Senate newly under Republican control and a House held by the slimmest of GOP majorities, lawmakers cast more votes last year than any other since the pandemic.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
But when it came to science, Narlikar believed in exploring the slimmest of possibilities.
From BBC ● May 23, 2025
Come January, the GOP will hold one of the slimmest House majorities of all time.
From Salon ● Dec. 19, 2024
There was a chance, she thought, just the slimmest chance that an offering burned on this altar might appear at Camp Half-Blood.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
A dedicated pace coach for the senior side could be another tweak to a backroom staff previously slimmed down by McCullum.
From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026
Though the fest itself has been cut down from 11 days to six, the amount of talent jammed into that week doesn’t appear to have slimmed down much at all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2026
DuPont has slimmed itself to two business units from the seven it had in 2014.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
Rising labor costs had slimmed margins for many Amazon deliveries done by UPS.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
She’d slimmed down and shot up and started worrying about clothes.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Campari’s positive performance was offset by the slimming of inventory for lower priority brands, they added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Brides aren’t the only ones slimming down before their big day, Ianieri-Salerno said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
J&J spent the past few years slimming down its business to focus on six categories, one of which is immunology drugs.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026
Surgical procedures and weight-loss drugs are growing in popularity, with some influencers detailing their own slimming journeys to both acclaim and criticism.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
The column of light in front of us is closing, slimming into a pinpoint.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
