skim
/skɪm/verb, adjective, noun
skim is spelled S-K-I-M: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, skim means “To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in skim?
| Letters | 4: S-K-I-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is skim?
Skim appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce skim?
- /skɪm/
Skim has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-skim.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of skim
- skims present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- skimming participle, present
- skimmed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does skim mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface.
- 2
To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of.
- 3
To hasten along with superficial attention.
- 4
To put on a finishing coat of plaster.
- 5
To throw an object so it bounces on water.
skimming stones
- 6
To ricochet.
- 7
To read quickly or describe summarily, skipping some detail.
(through)
- 8
To scrape off; to remove (something) from a surface
adjective
- 1
Having lowered fat content.
noun
- 1
A cursory reading, skipping the details.
- 2
informalSkim milk.
- 3
The act of skimming.
- 4
That which is skimmed off.
- 5
Theft of money from a business before the transaction has been recorded, thus avoiding detection.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Skim in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dépasser doucement, effleurer, frôler, raser , faire des ricochets , ricocher |
| Spanish | sobrevolar rozando , rebotar , hojear, leer por encima, trashojar , descremado |
| German | springen lassen, hüpfen lassen, flitschen, titschen, flippen, platteln |
| Portuguese | ricochetear , ler superficialmente, ler em diagonal, ler na diagonal, ler ligeiramente , desnatar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does skim come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).