skim

/skɪm/

//skɪm// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"skim" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“skim” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,397. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,397
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface.

Corpus desk

Index EN-skim · skim · English

skim · rank #23,397 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,397
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH SJ

Nearest frequency peer: SJ (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “skim”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “skim” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

skim vs SM
0% similar
skim vs sky
50% similar
skim vs sum
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for skim
PropertyValue
Headwordskim
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/skɪm/
Letters4
Frequency rank#23,397
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “skim”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).skimlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “SJ” (#23,396), “Slovak” (#23,399), “shroud” (#23,394). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “skim” is #23,397. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around skim (IPA /skɪm/), averb. Corpus frequency is #23,397 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for skim, with forms such as "ksim", "sikm", and "skimm". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "SM", "sky", "sum", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English skemen, skymen, variants of scumen, from Old French escumer (“to remove scum”), from escume (“froth, foam”), from Frankish *skūm (“froth, foam”), from Proto-Germanic *skūmaz (“foam”), from Proto-Indo-European *skew- (“to cover, conceal”)… The correct English form is skim, spelled S-K-I-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface.
  2. 2
    To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of.
  3. 3
    To hasten along with superficial attention.
  4. 4
    To put on a finishing coat of plaster.
  5. 5
    To throw an object so it bounces on water.
  6. 6
    To ricochet.
  7. 7
    To read quickly or describe summarily, skipping some detail.
  8. 8
    To scrape off; to remove (something) from a surface
  9. 9
    To clear (a liquid) from scum or substance floating or lying on it, by means of a utensil that passes just beneath the surface.
  10. 10
    To clear a liquid from (scum or substance floating or lying on it), especially the cream that floats on top of fresh milk.
  11. 11
    To steal money from a business before the transaction has been recorded, thus avoiding detection.
  12. 12
    To surreptitiously scan a payment card in order to obtain its information for fraudulent purposes.
  13. 13
    To become coated over.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how skim appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, / Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the main.
  2. Homer describes Mercury as flinging himself from the top of Olympus, and skimming the surface of the ocean.

Etymology

From Middle English skemen, skymen, variants of scumen, from Old French escumer (“to remove scum”), from escume (“froth, foam”), from Frankish *skūm (“froth, foam”), from Proto-Germanic *skūmaz (“foam”), from Proto-Indo-European *skew- (“to cover, conceal”). See scum.

This word in other languages

rebotar(Español)effleurer(Français)flitschen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ksim
  • sikm
  • skimm
  • skkim
  • skmi
  • sskim

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of skim - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ksim2sikm2skimm1skkim1skmi2sskim1
Edit distance from "skim"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "skim"?
"skim" is spelled S-K-I-M. The IPA pronunciation is /skɪm/.
What does "skim" mean?
As a verb, "skim" means: To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface.
What words are commonly confused with "skim"?
"skim" is commonly confused with "SM", "sky", "sum". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "skim"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "skim" is /skɪm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "skim"?
From Middle English skemen, skymen, variants of scumen, from Old French escumer (“to remove scum”), from escume (“froth, foam”), from Frankish *skūm (“froth, foam”), from Proto-Germanic *skūmaz (“foam”), from Proto-Indo-European *skew- (“to cover,... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "skim", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

teas#23,414Tyne#23,420Voss#23,430nemo#23,342

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

seine6 variantspiazza6 variantspaine6 variantsbaggy6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list