skɪm v. & n. --v. (skimmed, skimming) 1 tr. a
take scum or
cream or a
floating layer from the surface of (a liquid). b take (cream etc.) from the surface of a
liquid. 2 tr. a
keep touching lightly or
nearly touching (a surface) in
passing over. b deal
with or
treat (a subject) superficially. 3 intr. a (often foll. by over, along) go lightly over a surface,
glide along in the
air. b (foll. by over) =
sense 2b of v. 4 a tr.
read superficially,
look over cursorily,
gather the
salient facts contained
in. b intr. (usu. foll. by through) read or look over cursorily. 5 tr. US sl.
conceal or
divert (income) to
avoid paying
tax. --n. 1 the
act or an
instance of skimming. 2 a
thin covering on a liquid (skim of ice). øskim the cream
off take the
best part of. skim (or skimmed)
milk milk from
which the cream
has been skimmed. [ME, back-form. f. SKIMMER]