Skim (Verb)
Meaning 1
Examine hastily; "She scanned the newspaper headlines while waiting for the taxi".
Classification
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling.
Examples
- He skimmed the book to get a general idea of its contents before writing the review.
- She skimmed through the report to find any relevant information for her presentation.
- The security guard skimmed the crowd to identify any potential threats during the event.
- The manager skimmed the resumes to select candidates for the job interview.
- The researcher skimmed the historical documents to gather data for her thesis.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 2
Read superficially.
Classification
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting.
Examples
- She skimmed the article, only stopping to read a few key paragraphs more slowly.
- The student was accused of skimming books rather than thoroughly understanding their content.
- The tourists spent their holiday skimming the surface of local culture, never truly immersing themselves.
- She tends to skim her emails rather than read the whole message, just looking for important details.
- He has a habit of skimming news stories to get an idea of what's going on in the world without delving into specifics.
Synonyms
Related Words
Meaning 3
Coat (a liquid) with a layer.
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The pan was left to simmer, allowing a layer to skim over the stew and thicken it.
- You need to stir the melted chocolate constantly to prevent it from starting to skim over.
- She lifted the spoon to skim the froth that had begun to form on the surface of the cappuccino.
- A thin layer of oil began to skim the surface of the pan as the sausages cooked.
- Be careful not to let the mixture skim over too quickly or it can affect the final texture.
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 4
Cause to skip over a surface; "Skip a stone across the pond".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The stone skimmed across the calm lake, sending ripples through the water.
- She skimmed the frisbee over the ice, watching as it bounced and spun.
- He skimmed a flat rock across the pond, counting the skips before it sank.
- As the plane took off, its wheels skimmed the runway for a fraction of a second.
- With a flick of his wrist, he skimmed a pebble across the still waters of the lake.
Synonyms
Meaning 5
Remove from the surface; "skim cream from the surface of milk".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- Skim the fat that rises to the surface of the stew before serving.
- With a spoon, gently skim the foam from the top of the cappuccino.
- She carefully skimmed the layer of scum from the surface of the pond.
- To make butter, you need to skim the cream from the surface of the milk.
- The chef would skim the excess fat from the top of the broth before chilling it.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 6
Move or pass swiftly and lightly over the surface of.
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- A speedboat skim the calm waters of the lake as it accelerated to its top speed.
- She skim the stone across the river, watching as it bounced and skipped across the surface.
- The dragonfly skim the water's surface, its iridescent wings catching the sunlight.
- The bug skim the calm surface of the pond, barely causing a ripple.
- The wave skim the shore before gently lapping at the sandy beach.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 7
Travel on the surface of water.
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- The stone skimmed across the lake, leaving a trail of ripples in its wake.
- A speedboat skimmed the surface of the water, sending sprays of water high into the air.
- The surfer skimmed across the waves, catching a ride on the ocean's surface.
- The swan skimmed the water with its beak, searching for fish to eat.
- The kayaker skimmed the surface of the calm lake, paddling effortlessly through the still water.