trimmer
/ˈtɹɪmə/
trimmer is the comparative form of trim.
Noun
trimmer (plural trimmers)
- One who trims, arranges, fits, or ornaments.
- It put me to endless expense of having roof-men, gutter-men and tree-trimmers. At last I gave the grim order, “Cut her down.”1944, Emily Carr, “Life Loves Living”, in The House of All Sorts
- A device used to trim.
- My new electric shaver has a beard trimmer attachment.
- A member of the crew who trims the sails.
- Synonyms:
- sail trimmer
- Someone who fluctuates between opposing factions, political parties etc., according to current interest, a flip-flopper.
- Thus Halifax was a Trimmer on principle.1848, Baron Macaulay, History of England, I.2
- What do you love most?
Most of all, I love being alive. I love the natural world—and caring and creative people—and the seekers of justice and truth. Whom do I disdain? Bigots, reactionaries, self-righteous people, zealots, trimmers, bullies, and manipulators.1999, Bill Moyers, “Stanley Kunitz”, in Fooling With Words : A Celebration of Poets and Their Craft, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, Inc., →ISBN, page 6
- A beam into which are framed the ends of headers in floor framing, as when a hole is to be left for stairs, or to avoid bringing joists near chimneys.
- A person employed to rearrange the coal in the hold of a vessel, so that it fills the vessel without forming a conical blockage.
- Trimmers are used to stow the coal in the vessel, and, in the case of vessels with awkwardly-situated cargo spaces, a great deal of trimming may be involved. Vessels specially constructed for coal carrying have very wide hatches, and these may be easy trimmers, that is, need only a minimum of...1945 January and February, T. F. Cameron, “Dock Working”, in Railway Magazine, page 11
- A device for storing coal in gradually increasing piles made by building up at the point of the cone or top of the prism.
- A float bearing a baited hook and line, used in fishing for pike.
- An adjustable electrical component.
- One who or that which trims, or rebukes or reproves; a scold.
- Mr. Hazeldean wrote him such a trimmer that it could not but produce an unconciliatory reply.1853, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, My Novel, or Varieties in English Life
- A fast, high-quality delivery by the bowler, especially one that results in a dismissal of a batter by removing the bails without hitting the stumps.
Meaning of trim
Adjective
trim (comparative trimmer, superlative trimmest)
- Physically fit.
- He goes jogging every day to keep in trim.
- Slender, lean.
- a trim figure
- Neat or smart in appearance.
- a trim lawn
Proper noun capitalized: Trimmer
Trimmer (plural Trimmers)
- A surname.
Synonyms of trimmer
- sail trimmer
Forms of trimmer
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | trimmers |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Trimmers |
Origin of trimmer
From trim + -er. Figurative sense of “person who changes views with prevailing opinions” from 1680s, from nautical sense of “adjust sails with the wind”.
Words formed from trimmer
- beard trimmer
- bush trimmer
- headsail trimmer
- hedge trimmer
- mainsail trimmer
- mainsheet trimmer
- nail trimmer
- nose trimmer
- sail trimmer
- shrub trimmer
- strimmer
- string trimmer
- wing trimmer
Words that rhyme with trimmer
Questions about trimmer
- What does trimmer mean?
- Trimmer means one who trims, arranges, fits, or ornaments.
- What is trimmer the comparative form of?
- Trimmer is the comparative form of trim.
- What part of speech is trimmer?
- Trimmer can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce trimmer?
- Trimmer is pronounced /ˈtɹɪmə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of trimmer?
- The plural of trimmer is trimmers.
Words near trimmer in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: trimmer (page history and authors); Trimmer (page history and authors); trim (page history and authors). 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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-trimmer.wav.
Cite this entry: “trimmer.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/trimmer. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.