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Glite Dictionary
🥄 To remove from top 🏆 To take the best
to skim off

to skim off

1 3.7
Take oil or fat from the top of a liquid using a spoon
  • phrasal verb
  • /skɪm ɔf/
translation icon : desnatado
  • You can use a spoon and skim off the fat.
  • skim off fat
  • skim off foam
  • skim off scum

Examples

  • Fat was skimmed off the top of the wash tank before each dewatering step.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The fat will float to the top, and you can remove it or skim it off to use the stock for gravy.

    Blog text (27)

  • Just be sure to skim all the fat off the gravy.

    Blog text (27)

  • Increase the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface.

    Blog text (1)

  • Once the tallow hardens, we skim off a layer of glycerin.

    Fight Club (1999)

  • After gypsum is added to precipitate the curds, and before the resulting solid is pressed to make regular bean curd, the foam is skimmed off, and some salted water is sprinkled on top.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Allow the mixture to sit undisturbed, then skim off the foam that forms on the surface.

  • Once the soup reaches a steady simmer, carefully skim off the excess grease that floats on top.

  • After boiling the stock, use a ladle to skim off the fat from the surface before serving.

Synonyms

to skim
vsto skim off
1 3.4

Take a thin layer off the top of a liquid

uses a utensil specifically to take the surface substance off
to cream off
vsto skim off
1 4.8

To remove the top layer from a liquid using a spoon

removes surface substances generally not only the top creamy layer using a utensil

Antonyms

to add
∞ 1.0

Include something extra to make something larger or better

How Much

to decant
5 6.3
to lade
  • Archaic
9.5
to scoop
127 1.9
to skim off
1 3.7
to blot
4 4.1

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

skim + off

The literal verb 'skim' (to lift off surface material) plus 'off' (to remove) transparently indicates removing the top layer, and the MWE extends this to taking the top/best items from a group. However, this is a metaphorical extension (abstracting from a physical action to selecting people/things), so the exact sense may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without exposure.

Etymology

Skim off comes from the simple action of using a spoon or tool to skim cream off the top of milk or fat from soup, moving over the surface to take the floating part. So it means 'to remove something from the surface of a liquid'.