Word.ws English Dictionary

trim

UK/ˈtɹɪm/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

New Zealand/ˈtɹəm/

trim verb: to reduce slightly; to cut; especially, to remove excess.

trim: to reduce slightly; to cut; especially, to remove excess
Image: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb

trim (third-person singular simple present trims, present participle trimming, simple past and past participle trimmed)

  1. (transitive) To reduce slightly; to cut; especially, to remove excess.
    • He trimmed his beard before the interview.
    • The hedge needs to be trimmed.
  2. (transitive) To decorate or adorn; especially of a Christmas tree.
    • They traditionally trim the tree on Christmas Eve.
    • A rotten building newly trimmed over.1649, J[ohn] Milton, ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΆΣΤΗΣ [Eikonoklástēs] […], London: […] Matthew Simmons, […], →OCLC
  3. (transitive) To adjust the positions of control surfaces, sometimes using trim tabs, so as to modify or eliminate the aircraft's tendency to pitch, roll, or yaw when the cockpit controls are released.
  4. (transitive) To modify the angle relative to the water by shifting cargo or ballast; to adjust for sailing; to assume, or cause to assume a certain position, or trim, in the water.
    • The captain made us trim the boat, and we got her to lie a little more evenly.1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC
  5. (transitive) To modify the angle (of the sails) relative to the wind, especially to set them at the most advantageous angle.
  6. (dated) To balance; to fluctuate between parties, so as to appear to favour each.
  7. (transitive) To make trim; to put in due order for any purpose; to make right, neat, or pleasing; to adjust.
    • The hermit trimmed his little fire.1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC
  8. (transitive) To dress; to make smooth.
  9. (dated, transitive) To rebuke; to reprove.
  10. (dated, transitive) To beat or thrash.
  11. (historical, transitive) To cut back the wick of (a lamp) to maintain a clean, bright flame.
    • The lamp, or candle, which lights the binnacle, is placed in the cabin, of course the expence of one light is saved, and all the inconveniences of blowing out in a squally night, and likewise the trouble of trimming the lamp, are avoided.1811, The Tradesman, volume 7, page 420
  12. (broadly, transitive) To change the carbon rods of (an arc lamp).
    • To trim an arc lamp, first remove the old carbons and carefully and thoroughly wipe the carbon rods, holders, &c. with a clean, dry rag. […] Having cleaned the rods, next wipe out the globe and get ready the fresh carbons.1892, English Mechanic and World of Science, page 444

Noun (1)

trim (countable and uncountable, plural trims)

  1. (uncountable) Decoration; especially, decoration placed along edges or borders.
    • Paint the house white with blue trim.
  2. (countable) A haircut, especially a moderate one to touch up an existing style.
    • I went to the hairdresser for a trim but came back nearly bald.
  3. Dress; gear; ornaments.
    • It was the Winter wilde.
      While the Heav’n-born-childe,
      All meanly wrapt in the rude manger lies:
      Nature in aw to him
      Had doff't her gawdy trim,
      With her great Maſter ſo to ſympathize:
      It was no ſeaſon then for her
      To wanton with the Sun her luſty Paramour.1646 (indicated as 1645), John Milton, “On the Morning of Christs Nativity”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], →OCLC, page 2
    • seeing him just pass the window in his woodland trim1822, [Walter Scott], Peveril of the Peak. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC
  4. (countable) The manner in which something is equipped or adorned; order; disposition.
    • to be in good trim
    • The measure and whole trim of comeliness1614, George Chapman, Andromeda Liberata
    1. (especially) Features optionally available on a vehicle; an established configuration of such features within a model (a trim level).
      • Holonyms: make; model
      • Near-synonym: submodel
  5. (uncountable) The state of adjustment of control surfaces such that the desired attitude can be maintained without requiring the continuous application of force to the cockpit controls.
  6. (broadly, uncountable) The mechanism(s) used to trim an aircraft in roll, pitch, and/or yaw.
  7. (mildly, slang, uncountable, vulgar) The female genitalia.
  8. (broadly, mildly, slang, uncountable, vulgar) Sexual intercourse with a woman.
    • "Take me somewhere."
      His response lacked dignity, but in fairness to him I admit that I had left him little chance to be suave.
      He asked, "You mean, you’re going to give me some trim?"1969, Maya Angelou, chapter 35, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, New York: Bantam, published 1971, pages 239–240
  9. The fore-and-aft angle of the vessel to the water, with reference to the cargo and ballast; the manner in which a vessel floats on the water, whether on an even keel or down by the head or stern.
  10. The arrangement of the sails with reference to the wind.
  11. (binding) Any of the three cut edges of book pages, trimmed with a shear after binding.
  12. (uncountable) The horizontal position of an underwater diver

Adjective

trim (comparative trimmer, superlative trimmest)

  1. Physically fit.
    • He goes jogging every day to keep in trim.
  2. Slender, lean.
    • a trim figure
  3. Neat or smart in appearance.
    • a trim lawn
    • […]manhood is melted into curtsies, valour into compliment, and men are only turned into tongue, and trim ones too: he is now as valiant as Hercules that only tells a lie and swears it.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...

Adverb

trim (not comparable)

  1. In good order; properly managed or maintained.
  2. With sails well trimmed.

Noun (2) capitalized: TRIM

TRIM (plural TRIMs)

  1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of trade-related investment measure.

Proper noun capitalized: Trim

Trim (plural Trims)

  1. A surname.

trim meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Telugu and Kannada

trim in Tamil

டிரிம் செய்ய, டிரிம் செய்யுங்கள்

trim in Urdu

ٹرم کرنا

trim in Telugu

ట్రిమ్ చేయడానికి, ట్రిమ్ చెయ్యడానికి

trim in Kannada

ಟ್ರಿಮ್ ಮಾಡಲು, ಟ್ರಿಮ್ ಮಾಡಿ
More languagesFewer languages
trim in Punjabi
ਟਰਿੱਮ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ
trim in Gujarati
ટ્રીમ કરવા માટે
trim in Nepali
ट्रिम गर्न
trim in Arabic
شَذَّبَ šaḏḏaba, قَلَّمَ qallama

Examples of trim in a sentence

  • Place the screen material in the frame, secure it in place, and trim the edges.
  • The company trimmed jobs for the second time this year.
  • A ranch steak is usually trimmed of all excess fat.
  • This model of car comes in three different trims.
  • If you want air conditioning, you'll need to move up to the next trim level.
  • Seats are trimmed in a grey and blue moquette and tables are finished with grey Vyanide tops, gilt edging and ebony legs.1961 February, “New "Mini-Buffets" from Wolverton”, in Trains Illustrated, page 79:

All 40 example sentences with trim

Synonyms of trim

Forms of trim

Verb
third-person singular presenttrims
present participletrimming
past participletrimmed
pasttrimmed
Noun
pluraltrims
pluralTRIMs
Adjective
comparativetrimmer
superlativetrimmest
Proper noun
pluralTrims

Past tense of trim: trimmed

Plural of trim: trims

Origin of trim

From Middle English trimen, trymen, trümen, from Old English trymman (“to make firm; strengthen”), from Proto-West Germanic *trummjan, from Proto-Germanic *trumjaną (“to make fast; strengthen”), from Proto-Germanic *trumaz (“firm; strong; sound”).

Words formed from trim

Phrases with trim

Words that rhyme with trim

35 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about trim

What does trim mean?
Trim means to reduce slightly; to cut; especially, to remove excess.
What is trim in Tamil?
Trim in Tamil is டிரிம் செய்ய, டிரிம் செய்யுங்கள். See Trim meaning in Tamil.
How do you use trim in a sentence?
Place the screen material in the frame, secure it in place, and trim the edges.
What part of speech is trim?
Trim can be a verb, a noun, an adjective or an adverb.
How do you pronounce trim?
Trim is pronounced /ˈtɹɪm/ (UK).
What is the past tense of trim?
The past tense of trim is trimmed.

Words near trim in the dictionary

  1. trilophosaurid
  2. trilophosaurids
  3. trilophosaurs
  4. trilostane
  5. triluminar
  6. trim
  7. trim down
  8. trim down to size
  9. trim line
  10. trim lines
  11. trim one's sails

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: trim (page history and authors); TRIM (page history and authors); Trim (page history and authors); trim (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trim (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trim (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trim (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trim (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trim (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); trim (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-trim.ogg.

Cite this entry: “trim.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/trim. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.