slim

1 of 2

adjective

slimmer; slimmest
1
: of small diameter or thickness in proportion to the height or length : slender
2
3
a
: inferior in quality or amount : slight
b
: scanty, small
a slim chance
slimly adverb
slimness noun

slim

2 of 2

verb

slimmed; slimming

transitive verb

: to make slender : decrease the size of

intransitive verb

: to become slender
Choose the Right Synonym for slim

thin, slender, slim, slight, tenuous mean not thick, broad, abundant, or dense.

thin implies comparatively little extension between surfaces or in diameter, or it may imply lack of substance, richness, or abundance.

thin wire
a thin soup

slender implies leanness or spareness often with grace and good proportion.

the slender legs of a Sheraton chair

slim applies to slenderness that suggests fragility or scantiness.

a slim volume of poetry
a slim chance

slight implies smallness as well as thinness.

a slight build

tenuous implies extreme thinness, sheerness, or lack of substance and firmness.

a tenuous thread

Examples of slim in a Sentence

Adjective She looked slim and fit for her age. He has a slim build. I was a lot slimmer in those days. They have only a slim chance of winning. Verb She started exercising to slim her thighs. I'll skip dessert; I'm slimming.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Liberated from the slim suits of their early years, the group’s fashion grew from hip casual to psychedelic splendor in just 24 months. Jem Aswad, Variety, 17 Apr. 2024 It’s also designed with a slim profile to easily clean under coffee tables, couches, and other hard-to-reach areas. Toni Sutton, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2024 In other cases, the challenges are motivated by the slim margin for error candidates left when gathering voter signatures on their nomination petitions. Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 16 Apr. 2024 One item worth a shoutout: Google’s Pixel Watch, which has a slimmer, sleeker look than a lot of similar products. Jessica Kasparian, SELF, 15 Apr. 2024 So there’s a chance (albeit slim) the situation gets resolved in a few months. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024 Rhonda Carew said the chances of a reconciliation are slim but not impossible. Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024 According to an investigation from the New York Post published last week, In-N-Out’s price increases since the California wage bill have been slimmer than those of others. Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024 These slim cylindrical machines spin at supersonic speeds to create a form of uranium that contains higher concentrations of an isotope called U-235, the part of uranium that can be easily split to create a nuclear chain reaction. Joby Warrick, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Verb
Key Background Lyft hasn’t yet achieved profitability, though its fourth quarter and full-year earnings show the company is managing to slim its losses. Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 Mergers and acquisitions can help to slim the number of vendors offering similar services, but market consolidation risks locking security chiefs into business with fewer providers, said John-Claude Hesketh, CEO at Marlin Hawk, a global recruitment firm. James Rundle, WSJ, 22 Sep. 2023 The proposal slims the platform from 11 pages to four. Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2023 All the while, our narrator is plied with products that slim her thighs, smooth her skin, and lighten her hair. Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 16 May 2023 Mazda chose to use a wet clutch pack in place of a conventional torque converter; this arrangement is more compact, which slims the transmission's size and opens up additional foot room for front-seat passengers by reducing the width of the transmission tunnel. Rich Ceppos, Car and Driver, 4 Apr. 2023 Avoiding sugary drinks, refined carbs, and excess calories can also help men slim down. Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2022 Where other workstation-y laptops like Dell’s XPS 15 have dropped ports and offer only limited GPU options in an effort to slim down and become more mobile, the X1 Extreme still comes with a healthy selection of ports (both in number and variety) and offers GPUs all the way up to Nvidia’s RTX 3080. Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 17 Dec. 2021 He’s spent his first few months on campus trying to slim down some. Tim Bielik, cleveland, 9 Oct. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slim.' 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

Adjective

Dutch, bad, inferior, from Middle Dutch slimp crooked, bad; akin to Middle High German slimp awry

First Known Use

Adjective

1657, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1862, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of slim was in 1657

Dictionary Entries Near slim

Cite this Entry

“Slim.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slim. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

slim

1 of 2 adjective
slimmer; slimmest
1
: of small diameter or thickness in comparison with the height or length
2
a
: low in quality or quantity : slight
b
: scanty, small
has a slim chance of winning
slimly adverb
slimness noun

slim

2 of 2 verb
slimmed; slimming
: to make or become slender

More from Merriam-Webster on slim

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