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Glite Dictionary
🫖 A thin layer 🪨 To glide over 📄 To read quickly 🥄 To remove from top 🕯️ To coat lightly 🥛 No cream
to skim

to skim

1 3.4
Take a thin layer off the top of a liquid
  • verb
  • /skɪm/
translation icon : desespumar
  • Skim off any impurities that rise to the surface, lower the heat, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
  • skim off fat
  • skim off scum
  • skim off foam

So I took a job as an engineer in a shipyard at the place where they skim oil slicks.

Examples

  • To make a clear broth, skim the fat from the surface after simmering for a few hours.

  • You should skim off the foam that forms on top of the soup while it's cooking.

  • Now let's sort of skim off this part, right for the time being, and let's just focus on human beings in relation to each other.

  • So I took a job as an engineer in a shipyard at the place where they skim oil slicks.

    Big Think

  • My father cups his hands the very same way, and without disturbing the sediment, he skims the surface of the clear water and then takes a drink.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • It has become an ever-growing redistributor of wealth that skims off the top.

    Blog text (4)

  • According to Chris Short, foreman at the Hanson operation, the cleaner skims away any wet sand and gravel that clung to the conveyor in the past.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Before serving, skim any excess grease that has accumulated on the surface of the sauce.

Synonyms

to lift
vsto skim
25 1.0

To take something off a surface carefully

applies specifically to removing surface material from liquids rather than any surface
to skim off
vsto skim
1 3.7

Take oil or fat from the top of a liquid using a spoon

is broader meaning careful surface removal not only by using a utensil
to cream off
vsto skim
1 4.8

To remove the top layer from a liquid using a spoon

is the general careful removal from a surface not limited to top layer
to scum
vsto skim
1 8.9

To remove a dirty layer from the top of a liquid

applies to removing any surface substance rather than only impurities
to whisk off
vsto skim
4.2

To remove dust or crumbs quickly with a light movement

involves careful slow scooping rather than quick light brushing

Antonyms

to add
∞ 1.0

Include something extra to make something larger or better

Phrasal Verbs

to skim over
1 3.8

To read quickly without looking at details

to skim off
1 3.7

Take oil or fat from the top of a liquid using a spoon

to skim over
1 3.9

To move quickly and lightly just above a surface

to skim off
1 4.6

Take the best people or things from a group, leaving the rest behind

to cream-skim
  • Jargon
7.8

To take only the best or most profitable choices and leave others behind

Compounds

skim milk
  • US
11 2.0

Milk with the cream removed so it has little fat

How Much

to decant
5 6.3
to lade
  • Archaic
9.5
to skim
1 3.4
to dab
11 2.8

Surface Forms

skim infinitive
skimmed past
skimmed past participle
skimming present participle
skims third person singular

Etymology

Skim for removing something from a liquid comes from the same idea of acting on the top layer and taking it off. So to skim fat or cream is to lift that top layer away from the liquid.