trim

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
trim/trɪm/

▶verb (trims, trimming, trimmed)

• 1 make (something) neat by cutting away irregular or unwanted parts.

  ■ cut off (irregular or unwanted parts).

  ■ reduce the size, amount, or number of.

• 2 decorate (something), especially along its edges.

• 3 adjust (a sail) to take advantage of the wind.

  ■ adjust the balance of (a ship or aircraft) by rearranging its cargo or using its controls.

• 4 adapt one's views to the prevailing political trends for personal advancement.

• 5 informal, dated get the better of; cheat.

• 6 informal, dated rebuke angrily.

▶noun

• 1 additional decoration, especially along the edges.

  ■ the upholstery or interior lining of a car.

• 2 an act of trimming.

• 3 the state of being in good order.

• 4 the degree to which an aircraft can be maintained at a constant altitude.

• 5 the way in which a ship floats in the water, especially in relation to the fore-and-aft line.

▶adjective (trimmer, trimmest)

• 1 neat and smart; in good order.

• 2 slim and fit.

– phrases
in trim

• 1 slim and fit.

• 2 Nautical in good order.

trim one's sails (to the wind) make changes to suit one's new circumstances.

– derivatives
trimly adverb,
trimness noun.

– origin OE trymman, trymian ‘make firm, arrange’.