Free Translator Free Translator
Translators Dictionaries Courses Other
Home
English Dictionary      examples: 'day', 'get rid of', 'New York Bay'




Skimming   /skˈɪmɪŋ/   Listen
verb
Skim  v. t.  (past & past part. skimmed; pres. part. skimming)  
1.
To clear (a liquid) from scum or substance floating or lying thereon, by means of a utensil that passes just beneath the surface; as, to skim milk; to skim broth.
2.
To take off by skimming; as, to skim cream.
3.
To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of. "Homer describes Mercury as flinging himself from the top of Olympus, and skimming the surface of the ocean."
4.
Fig.: To read or examine superficially and rapidly, in order to cull the principal facts or thoughts; as, to skim a book or a newspaper.



Skim  v. i.  
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."
2.
To hasten along with superficial attention. "They skim over a science in a very superficial survey."
3.
To put on the finishing coat of plaster.



noun
Skimming  n.  
1.
The act of one who skims.
2.
That which is skimmed from the surface of a liquid; chiefly used in the plural; as, the skimmings of broth.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








Advanced search
     Find words:
Starting with
Ending with
Containing
Matching a pattern  

Synonyms
Antonyms
Quotes
Words linked to  

only single words



Share |





"Skimming" Quotes from Famous Books



... me pilot him into Fairport, he put for the open sea, and there we took the gale. A real tear-away it was, and raked the old ship well-nigh clean from stem to stern; but they rigged her up again, and had her skimming the seas like a duck before two days were over. I had to leave Hal Hutchings on board of her; they claimed him for an English subject. It was like losing my eyes to ...
— The Boy Patriot • Edward Sylvester Ellis

... several cuckoos skimming over a large pond; and found, after some observation, that they were feeding on the Libellulae or dragon-flies; some of which they caught as they settled on the weeds, and some as they were on the wing. Notwithstanding what ...
— The Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 1 • Gilbert White

... entrancing, Magical motion; Hear them, in chorus, Singing high o'er us; Over the meadows Flit the bright shadows; Glad eyes are glancing, Tiny feet dancing. Up the high ridges Some of them clamber, Others are skimming Sky-lakes of amber, Others are swimming Over the ocean;— All are in motion, Life-ward all yearning, Longingly turning To the far-burning Star-light ...
— Faust • Goethe

... some pleasant walks, or reposing in the shade of the stately trees; others again intent upon their different amusements. Nothing should be heard on all sides, but the sharp stroke of the bat as it sent the ball skimming along the ground, the clear ring of the quoit, as it struck upon the iron peg: the noisy murmur of many voices, and the loud shout of mirth and delight, which would awaken the echoes far and wide, till the fields rung ...
— Sunday Under Three Heads • Charles Dickens

... General Gudin, whose well-regulated valour loved to confront none but useful dangers, and who besides was not a bold rider, had alighted from his horse to cross the stream, when, at that moment, a cannon-ball skimming the surface of the ground, broke both his legs. When the tidings of this misfortune reached the emperor, they put a stop to every thing—to discussion and action. Every one was thunderstruck; the victory of Valoutina seemed no longer to ...
— History of the Expedition to Russia - Undertaken by the Emperor Napoleon in the Year 1812 • Count Philip de Segur


More quotes...



Copyright © 2024 Free-Translator.com