Pronunciation: [skˈɪmɪŋ] (IPA) 
The word "skimming" is spelled with two "m"s, rather than a single "m" like the word "swimming." This is because the "i" in "skim" is pronounced as a short vowel sound, as opposed to the long vowel sound in "swim." The double "m" helps to signify this short vowel sound and clarify the pronunciation of the word. In IPA phonetic transcription, "skimming" is written as /ˈskɪmɪŋ/.
Skimming refers to the act or process of quickly glancing over or reading through the surface or key parts of a written material or text, with the purpose of extracting key information or getting an overview of the content. It is a reading technique commonly used to assess the relevance, main ideas, or general structure of a text without delving into the details. Skimming often involves scanning the headings, subheadings, topic sentences, graphics, and bold or highlighted text to gather a general understanding of the content in a limited amount of time.
In addition to information retrieval, skimming can also be employed as a fraudulent activity, particularly in the banking or credit card industry. In this context, skimming refers to the illegal practice of capturing or obtaining sensitive personal and financial information from credit or debit cards. Skimming devices are used to clandestinely collect card information, such as the cardholder's name, card number, and expiration date, which can be later replicated or used for illicit purposes, such as identity theft or unauthorized transactions.
Overall, skimming can pertain to two distinct concepts: as a reading technique for quick information extraction, or as an illicit activity aimed at obtaining sensitive card information. The context determines whether skimming refers to a legitimate reading approach or a criminal act.
• The act of taking off that which floats upon a liquid.
• That which is removed from the surface of a liquid by skimming.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "skimming" comes from the Middle Low German word "schimmen", which means "to shine or glimmer". It later evolved in the English language to have the related meaning of moving lightly or quickly across a surface, such as when a stone skims across water. This sense of barely touching the surface then came to refer to the act of quickly and superficially looking over or reading something, like skimming a book or a document. Hence, the term "skimming" is derived from its original meaning of gliding or moving lightly.
