shim

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And we explain why sometimes a shim is also a shiv ...

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Definitions (12)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A thin, often tapered piece of material, such as wood, stone, or metal, used to fill gaps, make something level, or adjust something to fit properly.
  2. transitive verb To fill in, level, or adjust by using shims or a shim.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (8)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • Transfinite mathematics suggested only another term for the shim worlds: the aleph worlds. —  Analog April, 1971
  • Lou: Or, make a mini-shim out of an old TLT heel riser or cr ... —  - Lou Dawson's Backcountry Skiing Blog
  • It can be done with a simple shadow-making shim, as in the Troy lab. —  Kentucky.com: Homepage
  • IPv6-based site multi-homing solution that inserts a new sub-layer (shim) into the IP stack of end-system hosts. —  Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium - Recent changes [en]
  • She / him = shim: I think the gay rapper figured 50 already got shot, so what better way for a gay rapper 2 get publicity?
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Etymologies (4)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Origin unknown.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (3)

  1. Formerly also shimm; (a) from Middle English * shimme, * shime (in adjective shimmed), from Anglo-Saxon scima, shade, glimmer, = Old Saxon scimo, a shade, apparition, = Middle Dutch schimme, scheme, shade, glimmer, dusk, Dutch schim, a shade, ghost, = Middle High German schime, scheme, schim, German schemen, a shade, apparition; (b) cf. Anglo-Saxon scīma, brightness, = Old Saxon scīmo = Old High German scīmo, skīmo, Middle High German schīme, brightness, = Icelandic skīmi, skīma, a gleam, = Gothic (Moesogothic) skeima, a torch, lantern; with formative -ma, from Teutonic √ ski (skī, skĭ), shine, seen also in Anglo-Saxon scīnan, etc., shine: see shine. Hence ult. shim, shime, v., shimmer.
  2. Perhaps due to confusion of shim, in the apparently sense ‘streak,’ with shin, in the orig. sense ‘splint.’
  3. from shim, n.
 

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/ʃɪm/
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