skim

CEFRB2

/skɪm/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To move quickly over a surface; to read quickly for main points.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To hasten along with superficial attention.

Examples

  • I'll try giving the book "Reiko's Recommended" a quick skim read on the spot.

  • Let the milk stand overnight and skim off the cream.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of.

  2. To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface.

  3. To put on a finishing coat of plaster.

More examples

In context

  • Skim through this pamphlet before you take the examination for our company.

  • I skimmed the newspaper over breakfast.

  • skimming stones

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The chef used a spoon to blank the fat from the top of the soup.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English skemen, skymen, variants of scumen, from Old French escumer (“to remove scum”), from escume (“froth, foam”), from Frankish *skūm (“froth, foam”), from Proto-Germanic *skūmaz (“foam”), from Proto-Indo-European *skew- (“to cover, conceal”). See scum.