1. Move or pass swiftly and lightly over the surface of
   "The birds skimmed over the water"; "She skimmed through the magazine";
   - skim over
    
2. Travel on the surface of water
   "The water skier skimmed over the waves";
   - plane
    
3. Remove from the surface
   "skim cream from the surface of milk"; "skim off cream from the surface of milk";
   - skim off, cream off, cream
    
4. Coat (a liquid) with a layer
   "Skim the fat off the top of the soup"
    
5. Cause to move quickly over a surface with small jumps
   "skim a stone across the pond";
   - skip, skitter
    
6. Read superficially
   "He skimmed the report before the meeting"; "She skimmed over the less important sections";
   - skim over
    
7. Examine hastily
   "She skimmed the newspaper headlines while waiting for the taxi";
   - scan, rake, glance over, run down

1. A thin layer covering the surface of a liquid
   "there was a thin skim of oil on the water"
    
2. Reading or glancing through quickly
   "A quick skim of the report revealed the key points";
   - skimming

1. Used of milk and milk products from which the cream has been removed
   "yogurt made with skim milk";
   - skimmed

Derived forms: skimmed, skimming, skims

See also: cream off, fat-free, fatless, nonfat

Type of: coat, cover, covering, examine, glide, natural covering, read, reading, remove, see, surface, take, take away, throw, touch, wing, withdraw

Encyclopedia: Skim