skim
v.v. to read something very quickly to find the main ideas without reading every word. You do this when you have a lot of text but very little time.
v. to read a text rapidly in order to identify the main points or general gist. Often contrasted with scanning, which involves looking for specific data points.
I usually skim the newspaper while I drink my morning coffee.
Before the meeting starts, please skim the executive summary to understand the main goals of the project.
Academic success often requires the ability to skim dense theoretical chapters to determine their relevance before committing to a more thorough, analytical reading of the material.
From Middle English skemen, skymen, variants of scumen, from Old French escumer (“to remove scum”), from escume (“froth, foam”), from Frankish skūm (“froth, foam”), from Proto-Germanic skūmaz (“foam”), from Proto-Indo-European *skew- (“to cover, conceal”). See scum.
The verb is transitive when followed by a text object, but can also be used intransitively.
I skimmed through the book for find the dateI scanned the book for the dateLearners often confuse 'skim' (reading for the general idea) with 'scan' (looking for a specific piece of information).