skim

/skim/
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skim

She skimmed the cream from the top of the fresh milk.

Definition
  1. Verb:

    • To remove a substance from the surface of a liquid: To take something, especially a layer of fat, cream, or impurities, off the top of a liquid.
    • To move quickly and lightly over a surface: To glide or pass swiftly and smoothly over or along a surface without penetrating it.
    • To read or look over something quickly and superficially: To read or examine something hastily, noting only the main points or highlights.
  2. Noun:

    • A thin layer covering the surface of a liquid: A very thin, often barely noticeable, layer of a substance on top of a liquid.
    • The act of reading or glancing through quickly: The action of reading something in a rapid, superficial manner.
  3. Adjective:

    • Describing milk or milk products from which the cream has been removed: Used to describe dairy products, especially milk, that have had most or all of the fat content removed.
Examples of Usage
  • Verb:

    • Please skim the foam off the top of the soup.
    • The swallows skim the surface of the lake to catch insects.
    • I only had time to skim the report before the meeting.
  • Noun:

    • A skim of ice had formed on the puddle overnight.
    • He gave the document a quick skim to find the key figures.
  • Adjective:

    • She prefers skim milk in her coffee.
Advanced Usage
  • "to skim over": To deal with or mention something very briefly without going into detail.
    • The speaker skimmed over the complex technical issues.
  • "to skim off": To take the best part of something, often unfairly.
    • The corrupt officials were accused of skimming off public funds.
Variants and Related Words
  • Skimmed (adj): The past participle form, often used as an adjective (e.g., skimmed milk).
  • Skimmer (n): A tool or person that skims (e.g., a flat spoon for skimming foam, a bird that skims the water).
  • Skimming (n/gerund): The action or process of skimming.
Synonyms
  • Verb: Glide, glide over, scan, browse, graze, remove, scoop.
  • Noun: Layer, film, coating, glance.
  • Adjective: Nonfat, fat-free.
Related Phrasal Verbs
  • Skim through: To read something quickly to get the main ideas.
    • I'll just skim through these articles to see if they're relevant.
  • Skim off: To remove something from the surface; to take the best part for oneself.
    • The company skimmed off the top graduates from the university.
Related Idioms
  • "To skim the surface": To deal with something only in a superficial way, without depth or detail.
    • His analysis only skims the surface of the problem.
skim

She skimmed the cream from the top of the fresh milk.

Adjective
  1. used of milk and milk products from which the cream has been removed
    • yogurt made with skim milk
    • she can drink skimmed milk but should avoid butter
Noun
  1. reading or glancing through quickly
  2. a thin layer covering the surface of a liquid
    • there was a thin skim of oil on the water
Verb
  1. read superficially
  2. remove from the surface
    • skim cream from the surface of milk
  3. coat (a liquid) with a layer
  4. cause to skip over a surface
    • Skip a stone across the pond
  5. examine hastily
    • She scanned the newspaper headlines while waiting for the taxi
  6. move or pass swiftly and lightly over the surface of
  7. travel on the surface of water