# shim

> English word · Noun · IPA /ʃɪm/ · frequency rank #40,020

## Definitions
1. A wedge.
2. A thin piece of material, sometimes tapered, used for alignment or support.
3. A small library that transparently intercepts and modifies calls to an API, usually for compatibility purposes.
4. A kind of shallowly cutting plow used in tillage to break the ground and clear it of weeds.
5. A small metal device used to pick open a lock.
6. A thin device inserted into a card reader by a criminal to facilitate fraud.

## Etymology
Unknown; from Kent. Originally a piece of iron attached to a plow; sense of “thin piece of wood” from 1723, sense of “thin piece of material used for alignment or support” from 1860.

## Easily confused with
- **SI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-si)
- **SM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sm)
- **six** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-six)
- **sir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sir)
- **sit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sit)
- **sin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sin)
- **sum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sum)
- **shy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-shy)
- **ski** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-ski)
- **SIM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sim)
- **sip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sip)
- **sis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sis)
- **sic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sic)
- **Sid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sid)
- **sig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sig)
- **som** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-som)
- **sho** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sho)
- **sia** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sia)
- **STI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sti)
- **sie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-sie)

## Common misspellings (6)
`hsim`, `shhim`, `shimm`, `shmi`, `sihm`, `sshim`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shim