Skĭm1, n.
[A different orthography of scum, q. v.] The thick matter that forms on the surface of a liquor; scum. [Rare.]
3 entries under this word
Skim
Skĭm2, v. t.
[imp. & p. p. SKIMMED; p. pr. & vb. n. SKIMMING.]
Sense 1. To clear, as a liquid, from substance floating thereon, by an instrument that dips under and passes along the surface; as, to skim milk.
Sense 2. To take off by skimming; as, to skim cream.
Sense 3. To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of slightly.
Homer describes Mercury as flinging himself from the top of Olympus, and skimming the surface of the ocean. Hazlitt.
Skĭm3, v. i.
Sense 1. To pass lightly; to glide along in an even, smooth course; to glide along near the surface.
Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the main. Pope.
Sense 2. To hasten along superficially, or with slight attention.
They skim over a surface in a superficial survey. Watts.