slim
Americanadjective
-
slender, as in girth or form; slight in build or structure.
- Synonyms:
- thin
- Antonyms:
- fat
-
poor or inferior.
a slim chance; a slim excuse.
-
small or inconsiderable; meager; scanty.
a slim income.
- Synonyms:
- paltry, trivial, trifling, insignificant
- Antonyms:
- abundant, considerable
-
sized for the thinner than average person.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
-
to become slim.
-
Chiefly British. to try to become more slender, especially by dieting.
noun
verb phrase
adjective
-
small in width relative to height or length
-
small in amount or quality
slim chances of success
verb
-
to make or become slim, esp by diets and exercise
-
to reduce or decrease or cause to be reduced or decreased
noun
noun
Related Words
See slender.
Other Word Forms
- slimly adverb
- slimmer noun
- slimness noun
- unslim adjective
- unslimly adverb
- unslimmed adjective
- unslimness noun
Etymology
Origin of slim
1650–60; < Dutch slim sly, (earlier) crooked (cognate with German schlimm bad, (earlier) crooked)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With the glamorous catwalks, celebrities and excess of finery on display, the possibility of the recent investigations uncovering labour abuses being on anyone's mind appeared slim.
From Barron's
Organisers said the chances of seeing the nocturnal animals during the day would be slim but added the tours would offer a first hand look at the animals' damming and digging skills.
From BBC
She says the chances of survival for "the independent humanitarian community, as we know it in northern Yemen" are only getting slimmer.
From BBC
Spirit Airlines has reached a deal with its creditors and expects to emerge from bankruptcy as a slimmer airline — and one not solely focusing on budget air travelers, it said Tuesday.
From MarketWatch
Despite the late point, the result deals Dortmund's slim title hopes a blow ahead of Bayern's visit next Saturday.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
