skim

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
skim/skɪm/

▶verb (skims, skimming, skimmed)

• 1 remove (a substance) from the surface of a liquid.

• 2 move quickly and lightly over or on a surface or through the air.

  ■ throw (a flat stone) so that it bounces several times on the surface of water.

• 3 read (something) quickly, noting only the important points.

  ■ (skim over) deal with or treat briefly or superficially.

• 4 informal steal or embezzle (money) in small amounts over a period of time.

• 5 (usu. as noun skimming) fraudulently copy (credit or debit card details) with a card swipe or other device.

▶noun

• 1 a thin layer of a substance on the surface of a liquid.

• 2 an act of reading something quickly or superficially.

– origin ME: back-form. from skimmer, or from OFr. escumer, from escume ‘scum, foam’.