shim

UK: /ʃɪm/ US: /ʃɪm/ ,(shim)

Inflections of 'shim' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

shims

v 3rd person singular

shimming

v pres p

shimmed

v past

shimmed

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

shim /ʃɪm/   n., v., shimmed, shim•ming. 
n. [countable]

1. Building a thin wedge of metal, etc., for driving into holes or gaps, as between machine parts, to level them.

v. [~ + object]

2. Building to fill out or bring to a level by inserting a shim or shims.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

shim  (shim), n., v., shimmed, shim•ming. 
n. 

1. Building a thin slip or wedge of metal, wood, etc., for driving into crevices, as between machine parts to compensate for wear, or beneath bedplates, large stones, etc., to level them.

v.t. 

2. Building to fill out or bring to a level by inserting a shim or shims.

• origin, originally uncertain 1715–25

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

shim / ʃɪm/ noun

1. a thin packing strip or washer often used with a number of similar washers or strips to adjust a clearance for gears, etc

verb (shims, shimming, shimmed)

1. (transitive) to modify (a load, clearance, or magnetic field) by the use of shims

Etymology: 18th Century: origin unknown