skim

[skim] /skɪm/
verb (used with object), skimmed, skimming.
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.
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.
  1. 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 by off):
    The casino skimmed two million a year.
  2. to take, remove, or appropriate for illegal use:
    to skim information from another's credit card.
verb (used without object), skimmed, skimming.
11.
to pass or glide lightly over or near a surface.
12.
to read, study, consider, etc., something in a superficial or cursory way.
13.
to become covered with a thin film or layer.
14.
Slang. to conceal gambling or other profits so as to avoid paying taxes, etc.; practice skimming.
noun
15.
an act or instance of skimming.
16.
something that is skimmed off.
17.
a thin layer or film formed on the surface of something, especially a liquid, as the coagulated protein material formed on boiled milk.
18.
a thin layer, as of mortar.
19.
Slang. the amount taken or concealed by skimming.
20.
skim milk.
21.
Obsolete, scum.
Origin
1375-1425; late Middle English skymen, skemen, variant of scumen to skim; see scum
Related forms
unskimmed, adjective
Synonyms
5. scan. 12. glance.
Examples from the web for skim
  • Remove pan from oven, skim fat, and turn ribs meat side up.
  • Below are a set of images from the supplements, and you can skim them quickly.
  • Remove bouquet garni and skim any fat from surface of stew.
  • New skim milk and low-fat milk and cream products contain something called palmitate.
  • Late in the day, two hot-air balloons skim the dusky sky.
  • skim through the comments, however, and you come across an interesting counter argument.
  • Reduce the heat and skim off the foam with slotted spoon.
  • Then they skim off wafers of silicon, the platforms for photovoltaic solar modules.
  • Frankly the first skim through was a little daunting.
  • The recipe even works with skim milk, if not quite as brilliantly.
British Dictionary definitions for skim

skim

/skɪm/
verb skims, skimming, skimmed
1.
(transitive) 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.
(transitive) to throw (something) in a path over a surface, so as to bounce or ricochet: to skim stones over water
4.
when intr, usually foll by through. 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
noun
6.
the act or process of skimming
7.
material skimmed off a liquid, esp off milk
8.
the liquid left after skimming
9.
any thin layer covering a surface
See also skim off
Word Origin
C15 skimmen, probably from scumen to skim; see scum
Word Origin and History for skim
v.

early 15c. (skimmer, the utensil, is attested from late 14c.), "to clear (a liquid) from matter floating on the surface, lift the scum from," from Old French escumer "remove scum," from escume (Modern French écume) "scum," from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German scum "scum," German Schaum; see scum). Meaning "to throw (a stone) so as to skip across the surface of (water) is from 1610s. Meaning "to move lightly and rapidly over the surface of" is from 1650s, from the motion involved in skimming liquid; that of "to glance over carelessly" (in reference to printed matter) recorded by 1799. Related: Skimmed; skimming.

Slang definitions & phrases for skim

skim

noun

Income not reported for tax purposes, esp from the gross earnings of a gambling casino or other such enterprise; black money: allegedly ''cleansed'' in the neighborhood of $2 million in ''skim,'' untaxed gambling profits/ Caltronics is in on the skim (1960+ Gambling)

verb

: ''appropriate, conceal, and skim'' part of the winnings (1961+ Gambling)


skim in Technology

language
A Scheme implementation with packages and other enhancements, by Alain Deutsch et al, France.
(2000-11-02)