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trim

verb · noun · adjective

Simple meaning

Decorate, as with parsley or other ornamental foods.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

trim
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtɹɪm

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods

  2. transitive

    To decorate or adorn; especially of a Christmas tree.

  3. transitive

    To reduce slightly; to cut; especially, to remove excess.

  4. transitiveaviationof an aircraft

    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.

  5. transitive

    To make trim; to put in due order for any purpose; to make right, neat, or pleasing; to adjust.

  6. transitiveby extension

    To change the carbon rods of (an arc lamp).

noun

  1. A decoration or adornment on a garment

  2. uncountable

    Decoration; especially, decoration placed along edges or borders.

  3. Dress; gear; ornaments.

  4. countable

    The manner in which something is equipped or adorned; order; disposition.

  5. countable

    A haircut, especially a moderate one to touch up an existing style.

adjective

  1. Neat or smart in appearance.

  2. Physically fit.

  3. Slender, lean.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (transitive, aviation, of an aircraft) 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.

Used this way, trim is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

interior trimtrim awaywood trimfighting trimgold trimtrim figure

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • trimmedadjectiveInflected form

    Made neat and tidy by trimming.

  • trimmernounInflected form

    A worker who thins out and trims trees and shrubs.

  • trimmingnounInflected form

    The act of adding decoration.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • trimmer joistnounCompound term

    Joist that receives the end of a header in floor or roof framing in order to leave an opening for a staircase or chimney etc.

  • trimmer archnounCompound term

    An arch built between trimmers in a floor (to support the weight of a hearth).

  • trimming capacitornounCompound term

    Capacitor having variable capacitance.

  • trim downverbCompound term

    Cut down on.

  • trim backverbCompound term

    Cut down on.

  • window trimmernounCompound term

    Someone who decorates shop windows.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: decorate (food) or as with parsley

prunemanicuredressbring downlopshave

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.