skim off

phrasal verb

skimmed off; skimming off; skims off
1
: to remove a layer of (something) from the surface of a liquid
She skimmed the cream off the milk.
2
: to take (something valuable) for oneself out of something else
He skimmed off some of the profits.

Examples of skim off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And Remy’s been skimming off the top, unnoticed, for months. Nick Caruso, TVLine, 6 Dec. 2024 Any remaining plastic floats to the surface and is skimmed off. Vince Beiser, WIRED, 30 Nov. 2024 Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, skimming off foam, 2 to 3 hours. Kelly Brant, arkansasonline.com, 26 Nov. 2024 During World War I, hungry soldiers lobbed grenades into the river and skimmed off the dead fish. Ellen Ruppel Shell, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024 In finance, however, the opposite occurred: the new instruments gave birth to increasingly complex financial chains and a new army of middlemen who were skimming off fees at every stage. Gillian Tett, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2019 As the sociologist Max Weber noted, before the onset of modernization, instead of receiving sufficient, stable salaries from state budgets, most public agents financed themselves through the prerogatives of office—for example, skimming off a share of fees and taxes for themselves. Yuen Yuen Ang, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2018 Currently, there are big settling tanks where grease and oil float to the top and are skimmed off and disposed of. Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 25 July 2024 The affair is a harbinger of future fights: with less cream to skim off, the politically connected will have to start stealing their share from one another. Joshua Yaffa, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2015

Dictionary Entries Near skim off

Cite this Entry

“Skim off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skim%20off. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on skim off

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!