to put into a neat or orderly condition by clipping, paring, pruning, etc..
to trim a hedge.
to remove (something superfluous or dispensable) by or as if by cutting (often followed byoff ).
to trim off loose threads from a ragged edge.
to cut down, as to required size or shape.
trim a budget; trim a piece of wood.
Aeronautics. to level off (an airship or airplane) in flight.
Nautical.
to distribute the load of (a ship) so that it sits well in the water.
to stow or arrange, as cargo.
to adjust (the sails or yards) with reference to the direction of the wind and the course of the ship.
to decorate or adorn with ornaments or embellishments.
to trim a dress with fur.
to arrange goods in (a store window, showcase, etc.) as a display.
to prepare or adjust (a lamp, fire, etc.) for proper burning.
Informal.
to rebuke or reprove.
to beat or thrash.
to defeat.
to dress or array (often followed byup ).
Nautical.
to assume a particular position or trim in the water, as a vessel.
to adjust the sails or yards with reference to the direction of the wind and the course of the ship.
to pursue a neutral or cautious policy between parties.
to accommodate one's views to the prevailing opinion for reasons of expediency.
the condition, order, or fitness of a person or thing for action, work, use, etc.
Nautical.
the set of a ship in the water, especially the most advantageous one.
the condition of a ship with reference to its fitness for sailing.
the adjustment of sails, rigging, etc., with reference to wind direction and the course of the ship.
the condition of a submarine as regards buoyancy.
a person's dress, adornment, or appearance.
material used for decoration or embellishment; decorative trimming.
decoration of a store window for the display of merchandise; window dressing.
a trimming by cutting, clipping, or the like.
a haircut that restores the previous cut to neatness without changing the hairstyle.
something that is cut off or eliminated.
Aeronautics. the attitude of an airplane with respect to all three axes, at which balance occurs in forward flight under no controls.
Building Trades. finished woodwork or the like used to decorate or border openings or wall surfaces, as cornices, baseboards, or moldings.
Automotive.
the upholstery, knobs, handles, and other equipment inside a motor car.
ornamentation on the exterior of an automobile, especially in metal or a contrasting color.
neat and spruce in appearance
slim; slender
in good condition
to put in good order, esp by cutting or pruning
to shape and finish (timber)
to adorn or decorate
to cut so as to remove
to trim off a branch
to cut down to the desired size or shape
to trim material to a pattern
dialect to decorate
to trim a Christmas tree
nautical
(also intr) to adjust the balance of (a vessel) or (of a vessel) to maintain an even balance, by distribution of ballast, cargo, etc
(also intr) to adjust (a vessel's sails) to take advantage of the wind
to stow (cargo)
to balance (an aircraft) before flight by adjusting the position of the load or in flight by the use of trim tabs, fuel transfer, etc
(also intr) to modify (one's opinions, etc) to suit opposing factions or for expediency
informal to thrash or beat
informal to rebuke
obsolete to furnish or equip
a decoration or adornment
the upholstery and decorative facings, as on the door panels, of a car's interior
proper order or fitness; good shape
in trim
a haircut that neatens but does not alter the existing hairstyle
nautical
the general set and appearance of a vessel
the difference between the draught of a vessel at the bow and at the stern
the fitness of a vessel
the position of a vessel's sails relative to the wind
the relative buoyancy of a submarine
dress or equipment
window-dressing
the attitude of an aircraft in flight when the pilot allows the main control surfaces to take up their own positions
films a section of shot cut out during editing
material that is trimmed off
decorative mouldings, such as architraves, picture rails, etc
First recorded before 900; probably continuing Old English trymman, trymian “to strengthen, prepare” (not recorded in ME), derivative of trum “strong, active”; akin to Irish dron “strong,” Greek drȳmós “coppice,” Latin dūrus “hard”; see tree
When you cut something, literally or figuratively, you trim it. If you have steady hands, you can trim your own bangs. If you don't have steady hands, you can save up for a professional haircut by trimming the amount of money you spend on comics and snacks. A landscaper trims the grass and shrubs, and a cook trims fat off of meat before cooking it. But when you trim the Christmas tree, you decorate it, and when a sailor trims the sails, she adjusts them so they'll catch the wind just right. And as a noun, a trim is "an act of cutting," while trim is "decoration." All forms of this word are rooted in nautical language.
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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.
The Lauensteins have thematically used the teal color on other ceilings, along with a similar hue on the exterior trim.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
This will follow recent below-forecast consumer-price and producer-price inflation data which have caused investors to trim their expectations for interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
It’s a trim book—you can read it in a couple of sittings or on a long flight—but it’s perhaps best enjoyed in small doses, a chapter or two at a time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
“There is a logical element of profit-taking as investors trim winners ahead of the next earnings prints to reassess pricing durability and hyperscaler capex cadence.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
A short, trim man with fashionably slicked brown hair walks crisply to the front.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
At the top of Trim Mountain we find the Prestige package.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Trim positions if you have to, but hold on to the shares of this AI winner.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
Trim lower tree branches and keep woodpiles away from vegetation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2025
Trim, with Zero Waste Washington, said these measures could help "institutionalize" some of the reuse infrastructure that's being laid out by the private sector.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2023
The last time the writer was in Trim he was shown the house in which the Duke was said to have been born.
From Beauties and Antiquities of Ireland by Russell, T. O.
Sales of traditionally powered vehicles rose 1% as Ford’s pickups continued to shine in the U.S. — the company said that some of its off-road-vehicle trims accounted for nearly a quarter of its U.S. sales.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
A staff member trims the wicks on a pair of carrot birthday candles, $22.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Social media has been "massive" for the barbering industry, says dad-of-three Alsanawi, whose Instagram is filled with videos of him giving players including England vice-captain Declan Rice fresh trims.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Still, while it trims the fat in some areas, Nestlé is still filling gaps elsewhere.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
I picture my mother standing behind me with a comb and a pair of scissors, faintly smiling as she trims my hair, and I want to scream rather than insult her like this.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
Men with enormous beards that have never known the touch of a trimmer.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2024
Flag football’s five-a-side line-ups mean trimmer rosters compared to the swamped sidelines of tackle football, making for a more compelling case given the IOC's intention to streamline athlete numbers.
From BBC ● May 6, 2024
Then use a hand pruner for small jobs or a string trimmer or hedge clipper for larger plantings.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
I had seen him earlier walking around the backyard wielding a weed wacker, which turned out to need a new spool of trimmer string.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2024
Then she turned the electric hedge trimmer off and said, “I’m afraid you’re going to have to say that again. I’m a little deaf.”
From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon
This design gives the A8F a stunning presentation of just a giant display with the trimmest of bezels surrounding it.
From The Verge ● Nov. 2, 2018
The company has an annual voluntary 12-week challenge in the fall to encourage employees to be active and not pack on the holiday pounds, with prizes for those who stay trimmest.
From Forbes ● Feb. 25, 2011
Young, rich Stephen Carlton Clark had married Susan Hun, descendant of brownest, trimmest Albany ancestors.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was hell last week on one of the biggest, whitest and trimmest of U.S. inland excursion steamers, the Island Queen.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was a deep ditch, with sides of sloping sward, cropped neatly, and kept in trimmest order; but, from its depth and width, forming a fence of a formidable kind.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 4, September, 1850 by Various
He trimmed and groomed his beard, and made sure his short hair was neatly cut.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Actress Aubrey Plaza has trimmed the price of her Spanish-style California compound by nearly a half-million dollars—less than two months after she relisted the property at a drastically reduced ask.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
At least several colleges have already trimmed costs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
Woven baskets, checkered blankets, fringed umbrellas and trimmed napkins prove picnic classics never go out of style.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
Betsie’s and mine were both of Russian make, probably once trimmed with fur: threads showed where something had been torn from the collars and cuffs.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
"I have done all sorts, all sorts, trimming back brambles, conservation work, tidying up, setting up for events."
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
At 14 songs and 62 minutes, the album would have benefited from trimming three or four of the more generic tunes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
That means investors should be in “continuous risk-management” mode right now, trimming away at winners in stocks and rebalancing portfolios back to their longer-term stock and bond targets, Pride said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
He promised to give priority to growth by holding the line on taxes, trimming spending, lifting barriers to infrastructure and housing, and mending relations with the European Union.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
It was coarse- woven and simply made, without so much as a single bow for trimming, but it was certainly far more suited to the menial work she had to do in it.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
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.
