How to Use skim in a Sentence

skim

1 of 2 verb
  • The cream is skimmed from the milk.
  • He skimmed the leaves from the pool.
  • The milk is skimmed before it is bottled.
  • She only skimmed through the reading assignment.
  • She only skimmed the reading assignment.
  • Just skim it off from the top right after baking.
    Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 20 Feb. 2026
  • The skirt skims just above the knee and is ready for pretty much any evening soiree.
    Wendy Vazquez, Southern Living, 23 Feb. 2024
  • Use bold text and bullets to make your messages easy to skim.
    Kristen Wessel, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2021
  • His crew used a special boom to skim oil slicks off the river.
    jsonline.com, 2 Sep. 2021
  • Before serving, skim off some of the fat and add salt to taste.
    Paul Stephen, San Antonio Express-News, 2 Feb. 2022
  • Her red bangs fell right into her eyes, skimming her lash hairs.
    Gabi Thorne, Allure, 2 Nov. 2023
  • Don’t skim the surface, and get to the bottom of things.
    Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 6 May 2026
  • Use a large metal spoon to skim the fat from the surface of the sauce.
    BostonGlobe.com, 2 Nov. 2021
  • Recreate her look with these beige tall boots that skim just below the knee.
    Nicol Natale, People.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • As the chicken rests, tilt the roasting pan and skim the last of the fat.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2022
  • Calles will skim much of the fat, leaving just enough to add depth and flavor.
    Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2021
  • Drain off the juices from the baking sheet into a saucepan and skim off most of the fat.
    Paul Stephen, ExpressNews.com, 7 Oct. 2020
  • Meanwhile, the body is made of a slub knit that skims the body and has plenty of stretch.
    Shea Simmons, PEOPLE, 7 Apr. 2026
  • Pond skims a rite of spring Spring skiing can be variable.
    Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Special backhoes will skim that top layer of soil off the top.
    Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
  • But even that skims past a lot of interesting stuff.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 19 Oct. 2025
  • My hair, which reached beyond my ribs, skimmed the skin of my waist exposed by the cutouts.
    Literary Hub, 29 June 2026
  • Ask for thick curtain bangs that skim the cheekbones, shown here in this style by @styled_by_carolynn.
    Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 22 Feb. 2024
  • Meanwhile, skim off and discard some of the fat from the roasting pan.
    Deb Wandell, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Oct. 2021
  • The bird glided through the air, skimming the water for prey.
    Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
  • The dress also featured a thigh-skimming slit for a sexy touch.
    Starr Bowenbank, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
  • The shot was pure, skimming atop the grass to nestle inside the far post.
    Josh Gross, Daily News, 15 Mar. 2026
  • Wing-in-ground craft are as big as ships and skim the surface of the water at plane-like speeds.
    Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 27 Aug. 2021
  • Some travelers skim this section and move on.
    Matthew Kayser, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Bring to a boil, skimming any foam that rises to the surface, then turn off the heat and drain.
    Jessica Liang, Saveur, 6 Aug. 2025

skim

2 of 2 noun
  • Don’t just do a two-minute skim of the home page.
    Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2026
  • Had to be whole milk, of course; none of that suck-sauce skim.
    James Lileks, National Review, 19 Dec. 2019
  • Choose skim or low-fat dairy products.
    Jennifer Berger, Verywell Health, 4 May 2026
  • This is the age of the skim read but deep consumption.
    Big Think, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Remove from heat and skim fat from top; discard fat.
    Jasmine Smith, Southern Living, 30 Oct. 2025
  • The sentences swim and skim like surface bugs.
    Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Venus will rise high each day as the two planets skim by one another.
    Joseph Neese, House Beautiful, 7 Dec. 2019
  • The winner drinks ice cold milk, their choice of skim, 2 percent or whole.
    BostonGlobe.com, 24 July 2023
  • Hang out and watch people crash in the Breck Plunge pond skim event.
    Joshua Berman, The Denver Post, 15 Mar. 2017
  • For a mid-morning munch, eat 1/2 cup grapes with one piece of part-skim cheese.
    Good Housekeeping, 13 Jan. 2023
  • The report also carried praise for whole milk over skim.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Both pies are topped with tomato sauce and part-skim mozzarella cheese.
    Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, 7 Apr. 2021
  • Whisk in skim milk, nutmeg, and a dash of salt and pepper, and cook until thick.
    Joy Bauer, Woman's Day, 18 May 2017
  • Choose a small drink instead of a medium, and swap whole milk for skim or almond milk.
    Jennifer Berger, Verywell Health, 13 Apr. 2026
  • First and foremost, be thorough and patient—don't just skim.
    Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Use the table of contents to jump to a certain section or skim at your leisure.
    Quartz Staff, Quartz, 8 May 2020
  • Before you get lost in a sea of ingredients, skim this list first.
    Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, 13 Dec. 2022
  • The distance of the skim is measured to the point where the stone sinks below the water.
    Owen Clarke, Outside, 17 Sep. 2025
  • Ice will be thinner where there is an active beaver run; sometimes there will just be a skim of ice over the top.
    Joseph Biebert, Outdoor Life, 3 Apr. 2023
  • Using wide, shallow spoon, skim excess fat from surface of stew.
    Tribune News Service, cleveland, 4 Oct. 2021
  • Serve with 1 stick part-skim mozzarella string cheese and 2 kiwis.
    Delia A. Hammock, M.s., Good Housekeeping, 20 Oct. 2022
  • Choose part-skim, unsweetened options and get 2-3 servings per day.
    Jaclyn London, Ms, Rd, Cdn, Good Housekeeping, 8 Apr. 2019
  • The pilot throttles down and the pontoons skim across the glassy water inside the bay.
    New York Times, 19 Apr. 2021
  • During this season of heavy foliage drop, skim or net falling leaves often.
    Miranda Crowell, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Sep. 2025
  • All of that costs money, and a farm or creamery can’t survive without taking their fair skim.
    Noah Lederman, Bon Appétit, 9 June 2022
  • Customers can request for their drinks to have regular, skim, oat or almond milk.
    Detroit Free Press, 8 Jan. 2023
  • Birds including hawks, owls, and songbirds are drawn to oil skim pits that resemble ponds from the air.
    Lisa Friedman, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Jan. 2020
  • Today, there’s a skim of snow on the ground overtop of this feather moss that just covers the forest floor.
    Emily Schwing, Scientific American, 14 Dec. 2021
  • Costumes are required for the pond skim contest, which costs $20 to enter.
    Naomi Stock, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Mar. 2022
  • Sample menus replaced hot dogs with whole wheat spaghetti, pizza sticks with chef salads, and whole milk with skim.
    Elaine S. Povich, baltimoresun.com, 13 Aug. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'skim.' 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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