How to Use shim in a Sentence

shim

noun
  • Linux users should watch for the release of new shims.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 17 June 2026
  • Our final stop is Lowe’s to pick up the shims for the shelf.
    — R29 Team, Refinery29, 20 Aug. 2025
  • The shim will cause the couch back to tilt outward about 98°.
    — Andrew Freye, Popular Mechanics, 29 Oct. 2021
  • Shim the board to the proper alignment, then hot glue those shims—and the board—in place.
    — Jean Levasseur, Popular Science, 21 Mar. 2023
  • If possible, slide a second shim in from the other side of the joist.
    — Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 July 2022
  • The Benelli rep told me there are some 40 shim options for it.
    — The Editors, Outdoor Life, 30 Jan. 2019
  • Then, with a ceremonious flair, my dad pushed the shim rock into place.
    — Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 10 Apr. 2021
  • The coupe's rear seat, however, is more steeply angled and requires a shim to level the child seat.
    — Greg Fink, Car and Driver, 31 Jan. 2018
  • Unlike shims, this tweak won't last forever, as water and road dirt will wash it away eventually.
    — Mike Allen, Popular Mechanics, 2 Oct. 2017
  • Bring along a towel or blanket to use as a shim to get the seat base level, because the second- and third-row seats bottoms are slanted.
    — Michael Simari, Car and Driver, 16 Sep. 2017
  • An increasing number of guns come with shims and spacers to allow their owners to adjust fit to some extent.
    — Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 20 Mar. 2023
  • Enter reliever Martín Pérez, who kicked the shim out from under the floodgates and swung them wide open.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 20 Oct. 2021
  • Gender-neutral neologisms like ha, hizzer, E, shim, thare, um and ita never even left the hangar.
    — Time, 17 Jan. 2020
  • To prevent that, the manufacturer provides some very thin shim metal.
    — Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 28 Aug. 2023
  • One sleepless night, Miller took a small piece of paper, folded it four times to make a shim, and then crammed it into a crack above his closet door.
    — Bucky McMahon, Esquire, 14 Sep. 2015
  • In addition, a shim kit is included to further adjust drop and cast for minute adjustments for each shooter.
    — Savage Arms, Field & Stream, 30 July 2020
  • The gun also comes with shims, which when combined with the cheek and butt pads, allows for 20 different variations.
    — The Editors, Outdoor Life, 22 Jan. 2020
  • Starting at the top center of the mirror, carefully pry it away from the wall using a thin pry bar, then insert a thin shim of wood behind the glass.
    — Roy Berendson, Popular Mechanics, 13 Sep. 2020
  • Most need regular leveling, which involves jacking up a house and, at a minimum, adding wood shims under posts to even it out.
    — Lisa Demer, Alaska Dispatch News, 7 July 2017
  • Add staking or shims or any other method necessary to stabilize the disk from being blown or pushed over, then cover it all up with a lot of strap leaf plants.
    — Maureen Gilmer, idahostatesman, 14 Mar. 2018
  • Howes, 45 at the time, works as a shim patcher in the Weyerhaeuser plywood plant at Springfield.
    — Orval C. Johnson, Outdoor Life, 31 Oct. 2024
  • Without the shim, the couch would have a rather uncomfortable 90-degree sitting angle.
    — Andrew Freye, Popular Mechanics, 29 Oct. 2021
  • Set the leg configuration within the shims, place drill bit through the predrilled leg holes, and drill a 3/8-inch hole into the cornhole frame.
    — Hannah Bruneman, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2023
  • Flip the board upside down and place 1/8-inch shims at the corners in an L-shape, along the inside base and inside top edge of the cornhole board.
    — Hannah Bruneman, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2023
  • The ergonomics on the gun are smart, with oversized controls, a generous loading port with a lifter that won’t pinch your thumb during reloads, and a stock that adjusts with spacers and shims.
    — John B. Snow, Field & Stream, 6 Feb. 2020
  • Fixing the vulnerability involves more than just excising the buffer overflow from the shim code.
    — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 7 Feb. 2024
  • Conventional dampers set compression and rebound forces by controlling the flow of fluid through orifices with stacks of flexible shims.
    — K.c. Colwell, Car and Driver, 3 Nov. 2017
  • Use shims to keep the panels level and apply a construction adhesive such as Liquid Nails to fasten them to the furring strips.
    — Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 14 Apr. 2026
  • The steering wheel column had been stripped, the ignition mechanism was hanging down and a metal shim had been shoved inside the column, indicating that the car had been stolen.
    — Bob Sandrick, cleveland, 18 Aug. 2023
  • Hand tools are scattered around Woodward’s desk among boxes full of new ball bearings, stacks of crystalline disks, and scraps of metal shim that Woodward has cut into electrodes.
    — Daniel Oberhaus, Wired, 3 Sep. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shim.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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