brim

C2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈbrɪm/ UK /bɹɪm/ See IPA manual

Homophones

bream /brɪm/

Freq #23709

Meanings

1

noun
The top edge of a cup, bowl, or other container

She filled the glass right to the brim.
2

verb
To be so full of something that it is about to overflow

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she read the letter.
3

verb
To fill a container all the way to its top edge

He brimmed each cup with hot coffee for the guests.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with brim

brim over Phrasal verb C2

to flow beyond the top edge of a full container

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to be so full of something... teem

More bulge

Word family

Forms brimmedbrimmingbrims

Derived forms abrimbrimfulbrimfullybrimlessbrimmedbrimmerbrimmingbrimmybroadbrimhatbrimoverbrimunderbrim

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

snap brim
a hat brim that can be turned up on one side and down on the other

Noun + noun
brim over
flow beyond the top edge of a full container

Verb + adverb

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English brimmen (“of pigs: to be in heat or rut; to breed; to bear fruit”), either: * modified from brem, breme (“of animals: ferocious, savage; of fire, the sea, a storm, etc.: raging, severe, tempestuous; glorious, splendid; etc.”, adjective) (whence modern English breme (“(obsolete) fierce, stormy, tempestuous”)), from Old English brēme (“(poetic) glorious; famous, renowned”), from Proto-West Germanic *brōmi, from Proto-Germanic *brōmiz (“famous”); or * directly from Old English bremman (“to rage; to roar”) (though not attested in Middle English), from Proto-…

*bʰrem- Proto-Indo-European brimmen Middle English brēme Old English *brōmi Proto-West Germanic *brōmiz Proto-Germanic bremman Old English *bramjaną Proto-Germanic brim Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# brim

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈbrɪm/
**IPA (UK):** /bɹɪm/
**Frequency rank:** 23709

## Meanings
1. The top edge of a cup, bowl, or other container
2. To be so full of something that it is about to overflow
3. To fill a container all the way to its top edge

## Examples
- She filled the glass right to the brim.
- Her eyes brimmed with tears as she read the letter.
- He brimmed each cup with hot coffee for the guests.

## Synonyms
- bulge

## Derived Forms
- abrim
- brimful
- brimfully
- brimless
- brimmed
- brimmer
- brimming
- brimmy
- broadbrim
- hatbrim
- overbrim
- underbrim

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰrem-
- Root: brimmen
- Root: brēme
- Root: *brōmi
- Root: *brōmiz
- Root: bremman
- Root: *bramjaną
- Root: brim

## Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English brimmen (“of pigs: to be in heat or rut; to breed; to bear fruit”), either: * modified from brem, breme (“of animals: ferocious, savage; of fire, the sea, a storm, etc.: raging, severe, tempestuous; glorious, splendid; etc.”, adjective) (whence modern English breme (“(obsolete) fierce, stormy, tempestuous”)), from Old English brēme (“(poetic) glorious; famous, renowned”), from Proto-West Germanic *brōmi, from Proto-Germanic *brōmiz (“famous”); or * directly from Old English bremman (“to rage; to roar”) (though not attested in Middle English), from Proto-…

## AI Etymology
Brim has separate etymological notes: The verb is derived from Middle English brimmen (“of pigs: to be in heat or rut; to breed; to bear fruit”), either: modified from brem, breme (“of animals: ferocious, savage; of fire, the sea, a storm, etc.: raging, severe, tempestuous; glorious, splendid; etc.”, adjective) (whence modern English breme (“(obsolete) fierce, stormy, tempestuous”)), from Old English brēme (“(poetic) glorious; famous, renowned”), from Proto-West Germanic *brōmi, from Proto-Germanic *brōmiz (“famous”); or directly from Old English bremman (“to rage; to roar”) (though not attested in Middle English), from Proto-… Important recorded forms include *bʰrem- (Proto-Indo-European), brimmen (Middle English), brēme (Old English), *brōmi (Proto-West Germanic), *brōmiz (Proto-Germanic), and bremman (Old English). Current senses include the top edge of a cup, bowl, or other container, to be so full of something that it is about to overflow, and to fill a container all the way to its top edge. The wider family includes derived forms such as abrim, brimful, brimfully, brimless, and brimmed.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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