trim
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- neat, dapper, natty (informal), shipshape, smart, spruce, tidy, well-groomed
- slender, fit, shapely, sleek, slim, streamlined, svelte, willowy
[verb]
Synonyms:
- cut, clip, crop, even up, pare, prune, shave, tidy
- decorate, adorn, array, beautify, deck out, dress, embellish, ornament
[noun]
Synonyms:
- decoration, adornment, border, edging, embellishment, frill, ornamentation, piping, trimming
- condition, fettle, fitness, health, shape (informal), state
- cut, clipping, crop, pruning, shave, shearing, tidying up

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Antonyms: frowsy
Contrasted words: disordered, shapeless, straggly
Related Words: skin, clean, clean-cut, fit, spruce, shapely, streamlined, symmetrical, commission, whack

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English Thesaurus: cut, snip, slit, slash, saw, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. trim¹ /trɪm/ verb (past tense and past participle trimmed, present participle trimming) [transitive]
[Language: Old English; Origin: trymian, trymman 'to strengthen, arrange', from trum 'strong, firm']

1. CUT to make something look neater by cutting small pieces off it:
Pete was trimming the lawn around the roses.
I have my hair trimmed every six weeks.
trim something away/off
Trim away any excess glue with a knife.

2. REDUCE to reduce a number, amount, or the size of something:
We need to trim costs by £500m.
The bill would trim the number of immigrants to the US.
trim something from/off something
The company trimmed £46,000 from its advertising budget.

3. DECORATE [usually passive] to decorate something, especially clothes, by adding things that look pretty
trim something with something
a dress trimmed with lace
At Christmas, the whole family helps trim the tree.

4. SAIL to move the sails of a boat in order to go faster
trim something ↔ back phrasal verb
to make something shorter or smaller:
Trim the stems back carefully.
Most airlines have trimmed back their operations.
trim down phrasal verb
to lose weight deliberately:
Anne has trimmed down from 22 stone to 18.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. trim² adjective

1. a person who is trim is thin in an attractive healthy way Synonym : slim:
I play tennis to keep trim.
a trim figure

2. neat and well cared for:
trim suburban gardens

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. trim³ noun

1. [singular] when something is cut to make it look neater:
My beard needs a trim.

2. in (good) trim informal in good condition
keep/get (something) in trim
If you want to get in trim for summer, try aerobics.
My job was to keep the garden in trim.

3. [singular, uncountable] additional decoration on a car, piece of clothing etc:
suede sandals with gold trim

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

trim
verb
ADV. carefully, neatly his neatly trimmed moustache
away, off Trim away the lower leaves.
into trimming the bush into a heart shape
PHRASES get/have your hair trimmed

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cut to divide something into two or more pieces, especially using a knife or scissors:
Do you want me to cut the cake?
He cut off the lower branches.
snip to quickly cut something, especially using scissors:
I snipped the label off.
The hairdresser snipped away at her hair.
slit to make a long narrow cut through something, especially using a knife:
He slit the envelope open with a penknife.
She slit through the plastic covering.
slash to cut something quickly and violently with a knife, making a long thin cut:
Someone had slashed the tyres on his car.
He tried to slash his wrists.
saw to cut wood, using a saw (=a tool with a row of sharp points):
Saw the wood to the correct length.
chop to cut wood, vegetables, or meat into pieces:
Bill was outside chopping up firewood with an axe.
They chopped down the old tree.
finely chopped onion
slice to cut bread, meat, or vegetables into thin pieces:
I’ll slice the cucumber.
Slice the bread thinly.
dice to cut vegetables or meat into small square pieces:
First dice the apple into cubes.
grate to cut cheese or a hard vegetable by rubbing it against a special tool:
Grate the cheese and sprinkle it over the vegetables.
peel to cut the outside part off something such as a potato or apple:
I peeled the potatoes and put them in a saucepan.
carve to cut thin pieces from a large piece of meat:
Uncle Ray carved the turkey.
mow to cut the grass in a garden, park etc:
A gardener was mowing the lawn.
trim (also clip) to cut a small amount off something, especially to make it look neater:
He was trimming his beard.
Trim the excess fat off the meat.
decoration noun [countable usually plural] something pretty that you put in a place or onto something to make it look attractive, especially for special occasions:
Half a dozen girls volunteered to put up decorations for the dance.
We're making our own Christmas decorations this year.
You could use the ribbon as a decoration.
ornament [countable] a small pretty object that is used in a room or house to make it look more attractive:
The shelves were crammed with ornaments and souvenirs.
a glass ornament
knick-knacks [plural] small inexpensive objects used to decorate a room:
The shop sold cheap knick-knacks for tourists.
She had dusted all the ornaments and knick-knacks.
garnish [countable] a small amount of food that is used to make a dish look nice or add taste to it:
Serve the fish with a garnish of lemon.
frills [plural] a decoration on the edge of a piece of cloth that is made of many small folds in the cloth:
a white blouse with frills at the cuffs
embellishment [uncountable and countable] formal something that is added in order to make another thing seem more attractive:
the colourful embellishments on a medieval manuscript
His style is simple and without embellishment.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

cut to divide something into two or more pieces, especially using a knife or scissors:
Do you want me to cut the cake?
He cut off the lower branches.
snip to quickly cut something, especially using scissors:
I snipped the label off.
The hairdresser snipped away at her hair.
slit to make a long narrow cut through something, especially using a knife:
He slit the envelope open with a penknife.
She slit through the plastic covering.
slash to cut something quickly and violently with a knife, making a long thin cut:
Someone had slashed the tyres on his car.
He tried to slash his wrists.
saw to cut wood, using a saw (=a tool with a row of sharp points):
Saw the wood to the correct length.
chop to cut wood, vegetables, or meat into pieces:
Bill was outside chopping up firewood with an axe.
They chopped down the old tree.
finely chopped onion
slice to cut bread, meat, or vegetables into thin pieces:
I’ll slice the cucumber.
Slice the bread thinly.
dice to cut vegetables or meat into small square pieces:
First dice the apple into cubes.
grate to cut cheese or a hard vegetable by rubbing it against a special tool:
Grate the cheese and sprinkle it over the vegetables.
peel to cut the outside part off something such as a potato or apple:
I peeled the potatoes and put them in a saucepan.
carve to cut thin pieces from a large piece of meat:
Uncle Ray carved the turkey.
mow to cut the grass in a garden, park etc:
A gardener was mowing the lawn.
trim (also clip) to cut a small amount off something, especially to make it look neater:
He was trimming his beard.
Trim the excess fat off the meat.
make cuts
The country needs to make cuts in the carbon dioxide it produces.
announce cuts
A major engineering company has announced big job cuts.
take/accept cuts (=agree to have something reduced)
Some employees were forced to take pay cuts.
tax cuts
The President announced tax cuts.
pay/wage cuts
Millions of workers face pay cuts.
job/staff cuts
There have been falling sales and job cuts at the newspaper.
spending cuts
His proposals could involve spending cuts of up to £12 billion.
price cuts
The company announced big price cuts on all its computers.
defence cuts
Further proposals for defence cuts were drawn up.
deep/severe cuts (=big reductions)
Deep cuts were made in research spending.
drastic/sharp cuts (=big and sudden reductions)
He resigned over drastic cuts in the education budget.
have a cut on something
He had a cut on his forehead.
get a cut (on something)
I fell and got a bad cut on my head.
small/slight
It’s only a small cut.
minor
Two passengers had to be treated for minor cuts.
superficial (=not deep)
I’m fine - just a few superficial cuts.
bad/nasty (=wide or deep and bleeding a lot)
The cut looked quite bad.
How did you get that nasty cut?
deep
She fell and got a deep cut on her leg.
cuts and bruises (=cuts and dark marks on the skin)
He escaped the crash with just a few cuts and bruises.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

cut to divide something into two or more pieces, especially using a knife or scissors:
Do you want me to cut the cake?
He cut off the lower branches.
snip to quickly cut something, especially using scissors:
I snipped the label off.
The hairdresser snipped away at her hair.
slit to make a long narrow cut through something, especially using a knife:
He slit the envelope open with a penknife.
She slit through the plastic covering.
slash to cut something quickly and violently with a knife, making a long thin cut:
Someone had slashed the tyres on his car.
He tried to slash his wrists.
saw to cut wood, using a saw (=a tool with a row of sharp points):
Saw the wood to the correct length.
chop to cut wood, vegetables, or meat into pieces:
Bill was outside chopping up firewood with an axe.
They chopped down the old tree.
finely chopped onion
slice to cut bread, meat, or vegetables into thin pieces:
I’ll slice the cucumber.
Slice the bread thinly.
dice to cut vegetables or meat into small square pieces:
First dice the apple into cubes.
grate to cut cheese or a hard vegetable by rubbing it against a special tool:
Grate the cheese and sprinkle it over the vegetables.
peel to cut the outside part off something such as a potato or apple:
I peeled the potatoes and put them in a saucepan.
carve to cut thin pieces from a large piece of meat:
Uncle Ray carved the turkey.
mow to cut the grass in a garden, park etc:
A gardener was mowing the lawn.
trim (also clip) to cut a small amount off something, especially to make it look neater:
He was trimming his beard.
Trim the excess fat off the meat.
melt to make butter, chocolate etc become liquid:
Melt the butter, chocolate, and 1 teaspoon of cream over a low heat.
sieve British English, sift American English to put flour or other powders through a sieve (=tool like a net made of wire, which you use for removing larger grains or pieces):
Sift the flour and cocoa before adding to the rest of the mixture.
season to add salt, pepper etc to food:
Season the meat before grilling.
crush to use a lot of force to break something such as seeds into very small pieces or into a powder:
Add one clove of crushed garlic.
mix to combine different foods together:
Mix together all the ingredients in one bowl.
beat/whisk to mix food together quickly with a fork or other tool:
Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
stir to turn food around with a spoon:
Stir the sauce gently to prevent burning.
fold something in to gently mix another substance into a mixture:
Fold in the beaten egg whites.
knead to press dough (=a mixture of flour and water) many times with your hands when you are making bread:
Knead the dough for ten minutes, until smooth.
drizzle to slowly pour a small amount of a liquid onto something:
Drizzle with olive oil.
let something stand to leave something somewhere, before you do something else with it:
Let the mixture stand for a couple of hours so that it cools naturally.
serve to put different foods together as part of a meal:
Serve with rice and a salad.
Serve the aubergines on a bed of lettuce.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

decoration noun [countable usually plural] something pretty that you put in a place or onto something to make it look attractive, especially for special occasions:
Half a dozen girls volunteered to put up decorations for the dance.
We're making our own Christmas decorations this year.
You could use the ribbon as a decoration.
ornament [countable] a small pretty object that is used in a room or house to make it look more attractive:
The shelves were crammed with ornaments and souvenirs.
a glass ornament
knick-knacks [plural] small inexpensive objects used to decorate a room:
The shop sold cheap knick-knacks for tourists.
She had dusted all the ornaments and knick-knacks.
garnish [countable] a small amount of food that is used to make a dish look nice or add taste to it:
Serve the fish with a garnish of lemon.
trim [singular, uncountable] decoration on a car, object, or piece of clothing that goes along the length of it:
a white skirt with black trim along the hem
frills [plural] a decoration on the edge of a piece of cloth that is made of many small folds in the cloth:
a white blouse with frills at the cuffs
embellishment [uncountable and countable] formal something that is added in order to make another thing seem more attractive:
the colourful embellishments on a medieval manuscript
His style is simple and without embellishment.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

grate to cut cheese, carrot etc into small pieces by rubbing it against a special tool:
Grate the cheese and sprinkle it over the top of the pasta.
melt to make butter, chocolate etc become liquid:
Melt the butter, chocolate, and 1 teaspoon of cream over a low heat.
sieve British English, sift American English to put flour or other powders through a sieve (=tool like a net made of wire, which you use for removing larger grains or pieces):
Sift the flour and cocoa before adding to the rest of the mixture.
chop to cut something into pieces, especially using a big knife:
Chop up the vegetables.
dice to cut vegetables or meat into small square pieces:
Dice the carrots and then fry them in butter.
season to add salt, pepper etc to food:
Season the meat before grilling.
crush to use a lot of force to break something such as seeds into very small pieces or into a powder:
Add one clove of crushed garlic.
mix to combine different foods together:
Mix together all the ingredients in one bowl.
beat/whisk to mix food together quickly with a fork or other tool:
Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
stir to turn food around with a spoon:
Stir the sauce gently to prevent burning.
fold something in to gently mix another substance into a mixture:
Fold in the beaten egg whites.
knead to press dough (=a mixture of flour and water) many times with your hands when you are making bread:
Knead the dough for ten minutes, until smooth.
drizzle to slowly pour a small amount of a liquid onto something:
Drizzle with olive oil.
let something stand to leave something somewhere, before you do something else with it:
Let the mixture stand for a couple of hours so that it cools naturally.
serve to put different foods together as part of a meal:
Serve with rice and a salad.
Serve the aubergines on a bed of lettuce.
cut to divide something into two or more pieces, especially using a knife or scissors:
Do you want me to cut the cake?
He cut off the lower branches.
snip to quickly cut something, especially using scissors:
I snipped the label off.
The hairdresser snipped away at her hair.
slit to make a long narrow cut through something, especially using a knife:
He slit the envelope open with a penknife.
She slit through the plastic covering.
slash to cut something quickly and violently with a knife, making a long thin cut:
Someone had slashed the tyres on his car.
He tried to slash his wrists.
saw to cut wood, using a saw (=a tool with a row of sharp points):
Saw the wood to the correct length.
slice to cut bread, meat, or vegetables into thin pieces:
I’ll slice the cucumber.
Slice the bread thinly.
peel to cut the outside part off something such as a potato or apple:
I peeled the potatoes and put them in a saucepan.
carve to cut thin pieces from a large piece of meat:
Uncle Ray carved the turkey.
mow to cut the grass in a garden, park etc:
A gardener was mowing the lawn.
trim (also clip) to cut a small amount off something, especially to make it look neater:
He was trimming his beard.
Trim the excess fat off the meat.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

piece an amount of something that has been cut or separated from the main part:
Could I have another piece of cake?
a piece of broken glass
Emma cut the pie into eight pieces.
bit a piece. Bit is more informal than piece and is often used about smaller pieces:
The notes were written on bits of paper.
He threw a bit of wood onto the fire.
lump a small piece of something solid or firm that does not have a regular shape:
two lumps of sugar
a lump of coal
a lump of clay
scrap a small piece of paper, cloth etc that is no longer needed:
I wrote the phone number on a scrap of paper.
The dog was eating scraps of food off the floor.
strip a long narrow piece of cloth, paper etc:
a strip of cloth
The leather had been cut into strips.
sheet a thin flat piece of something such as paper, glass, or metal:
a blank sheet of paper
a sheet of aluminium
slice a thin flat piece of bread, cake, meat etc cut from a larger piece:
a slice of pizza
Cut the tomatoes into thin slices.
chunk a piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape – used especially about food, rock, or metal:
The fruit was cut into large chunks.
a chunk of bread
hunk a large piece with rough edges, which has been cut or has broken off a bigger piece of food, rock etc:
a big hunk of cheese
hunks of concrete
block a piece of something solid, which has straight sides:
concrete blocks
a block of cheese
a block of ice
slab a thick flat piece of stone, or of cake, meat etc:
The floor had been made from stone slabs.
a slab of beef
cube a piece that has six square sides – used especially about food:
a cube of sugar
ice cubes
wedge a piece that has a thick end and a pointed end, and is shaped like a triangle – used especially about food and metal:
a wedge of cheese
bar a block of soap, chocolate, candy, or metal, which has straight sides:
a chocolate bar
a bar of soap
gold bars worth more than £26 million
rasher British English a slice of bacon:
I usually have two rashers of bacon for breakfast.
cut to divide something into two or more pieces, especially using a knife or scissors:
Do you want me to cut the cake?
He cut off the lower branches.
snip to quickly cut something, especially using scissors:
I snipped the label off.
The hairdresser snipped away at her hair.
slit to make a long narrow cut through something, especially using a knife:
He slit the envelope open with a penknife.
She slit through the plastic covering.
slash to cut something quickly and violently with a knife, making a long thin cut:
Someone had slashed the tyres on his car.
He tried to slash his wrists.
saw to cut wood, using a saw (=a tool with a row of sharp points):
Saw the wood to the correct length.
chop to cut wood, vegetables, or meat into pieces:
Bill was outside chopping up firewood with an axe.
They chopped down the old tree.
finely chopped onion
dice to cut vegetables or meat into small square pieces:
First dice the apple into cubes.
grate to cut cheese or a hard vegetable by rubbing it against a special tool:
Grate the cheese and sprinkle it over the vegetables.
peel to cut the outside part off something such as a potato or apple:
I peeled the potatoes and put them in a saucepan.
carve to cut thin pieces from a large piece of meat:
Uncle Ray carved the turkey.
mow to cut the grass in a garden, park etc:
A gardener was mowing the lawn.
trim (also clip) to cut a small amount off something, especially to make it look neater:
He was trimming his beard.
Trim the excess fat off the meat.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲