scrim

noun

1
: a durable plain-woven usually cotton fabric for use in clothing, curtains, building, and industry
2
: a theater drop that appears opaque when a scene in front is lighted and transparent or translucent when a scene in back is lighted
3
: something likened to a theater scrim

Examples of scrim in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Or a camel duster sporting denim sleeves tossed over a pastel checked button-up, which was itself trapped under a sheer peach scrim of a pullover. Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 The picture’s white voids seem to glow like candles behind a blue scrim, an effect as striking as the technique is simple. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 1 Dec. 2023 By extending the stage into a thrust and, behind the proscenium arch, creating layer after overlapping layer in the playing space using curtains, scrims, and elegant, rotatable scenery, Shimizu renders the play’s palimpsest tangible. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2023 And while there were lovely moments throughout its 28-or-so minutes — the opening assembly of harp and flute atop a scrim of ascendant strings was a sublime start — missing was the darkness and depth of Frost’s forest, and the poetry and power of Kennedy’s vision. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2023 Defenders of book-banning often conceal their points behind a scrim of rhetorical hair-splitting or other pettifoggery. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2023 Like a starry dome, there is no separation of scrim and stage. Catherine Tharin, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Aug. 2023 On the back scrim there were constant minuscule lighting changes, so your brain was always getting stimulated. Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2023 Dancers swim against the pixel current and disappear to reform their group behind the scrim. Catherine Tharin, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Aug. 2023

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

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of scrim was in 1793

Dictionary Entries Near scrim

Cite this Entry

“Scrim.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scrim. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on scrim

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!