slim
/ˈslɪm/adjective, noun, verb
slim is spelled S-L-I-M: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, slim means “Slender in an attractive way” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in slim?
| Letters | 4: S-L-I-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is slim?
Slim appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th 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 slim?
- /ˈslɪm/
- [ˈslɪm]
Slim has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-slim.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with slim
Also written: sling.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with slim?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as slim.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: misl.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of slim
- slimmer comparative
- slimmest superlative
- slims plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- slimming participle, present
- slimmed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does slim mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Slender in an attractive way.
Movie stars are usually slim, attractive, and young.
- 2
Designed to make the wearer appear slim.
- 3
Long and narrow.
- 4
Of a reduced size, with the intent of being more efficient.
- 5
Very small, tiny.
I'm afraid your chances are quite slim.
- 6
ScotlandBad, of questionable quality; not strongly built, flimsy.
A slimly-shod lad;
- 7
obsoleteSly, crafty.
noun
- 1
A type of cigarette substantially longer and thinner than normal cigarettes.
I only smoke slims.
- 2
IrelandA potato farl.
- 3
AIDS, or the chronic wasting associated with its later stages.
- 4
slangCocaine.
- 5
Alternative form of sling (“type of alcoholic mixed drink”)
verb
- 1
To lose weight in order to achieve slimness.
- 2
To make slimmer; to reduce in size.
noun
- 1
Acronym of short linear motif.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Slim in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | mince, svelte , maigrir, mincir |
| German | schlank, schmal, dünn , abnehmen |
| Portuguese | magro, esbelto, esguio, delgado , emagrecer |
| Spanish | delgado , adelgazarse, enflaquecer, enflaquecerse, enflacar |
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 slim come from?
Borrowing from Low German or Dutch slim (“bad, sly, clever”), from Middle Dutch slim (“bad, crooked”), from Old Dutch *slimb, from Proto-West Germanic *slimb, from Proto-Germanic *slimbaz (“oblique, crooked”). The sense development would have been "slanting, cunning" (Dutch) > "insignificant, slight" and then "thin, graceful" in English, a shift that Liberman calls an "incredible amelioration" of word meaning.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).