scrim

noun

ˈskrim How to pronounce scrim (audio)
1
: a durable plain-woven usually cotton fabric for use in clothing, curtains, building, and industry
2
: a theater drop that appears opaque when a scene in front is lighted and transparent or translucent when a scene in back is lighted
3
: something likened to a theater scrim

Examples of scrim in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
When the scrim is illuminated, the golden notes appear to be suspended like stars in the sky. — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2026 Most visitors to London see an old-world scrim of royal palaces, ancient pubs and West End theaters. — Frank Langfitt, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026 Bottles, glass ornaments, scraps of lace and strings of lights hang from branches on the ceiling, while upstage, a cave-like wall frames a round piece of fabric that sometimes evokes a pond and also becomes a scrim for silhouetted scenes. — Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026 Slow-attack tones emerge and are subsumed back within the haze, like single strands of a spiderweb zooming in and out of focus; the uppermost reaches are suffused in a delicate scrim of what sounds like electronic crickets. — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 14 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for scrim

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of scrim was in 1793

Rhymes for scrim

See All Rhymes for scrim

Browse Nearby Words

scrike
scrim
scrimmage
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Scrim.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scrim. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on scrim

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about scrim

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All