skim a book vs skim through a book

Both "skim a book" and "skim through a book" are correct and commonly used phrases in English. They both mean to read quickly or superficially to get a general idea of the content. The choice between the two phrases is a matter of personal preference or regional variation.

Last updated: March 24, 2024 • 1155 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"skim a book"

This phrase means to read quickly or superficially to get a general idea of the content of a book.

Examples:

I don't have time to read the whole book, so I'll just skim a few chapters.
She skimmed a book to find the relevant information for her research paper.

Show examples from the web [+]

Did you read the book or you just skim over the book? ... to find the answer to the question that you were looking for?
[] [Martin] Toni Burke has managed to skim a cool 3 million bucks off the books... from who she was working for.
No-one dies if you skim a bit.
He pockets one of Janet Gerber's ATM cards, decides to skim a little cash for himself.
People have fun, they collect their winnings, I skim a little off the top, everybody's happy.
If you authorized an offer of 20 on the widow's claim... your agent was looking to skim a little cream.
Like a book club with bullets.
Now please go find a book.
But it's probably in a book somewhere.
She wrote a book on the subject.
Well I actually have a book.
Except Cynthia decided to write a book...
Susan's publisher offered me a book deal.
So a book published in 1963.
Anything that helps to launch a book or collection.
A book cover is a distillation.
Tom gave Mary a book about Australia.
A book someone is killing over.
I found a book, you know...
- It's a book myfatherwrote.

Alternatives:

skim through a book
skim over a book
skim read a book
quickly skim a book
glance through a book

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"skim through a book"

This phrase also means to read quickly or superficially to get a general idea of the content of a book.

Examples:

I'll just skim through the book to see if there's anything interesting in it.
She skimmed through the book to refresh her memory before the exam.

Show examples from the web [+]

So what we offered ourselves was a collection of things. I'm just going to go skim through a few things, just to jog your memories.
You browse through a book, it's reading you.
A link between two SSSs consists of a set of procedures and arrangements for the cross-border transfer of securities through a book-entry process.
We believe that the appeals are being processed through a book depository run by a prison-literacy project.
They can pull off, short hair and they're always halfway through a book.
The average consumer will only skim through it.
Eligible links may only be established between SSSs that have been positively assessed pursuant to the Eurosystem User Assessment Framework and shall consist of a set of procedures and arrangements for the transfer of securities through a book-entry process.
I think Trav can skim through here and get a touchdown.
Why did you have to look through a book to find a psychiatrist?
Link between securities settlement systems: the procedures and arrangements between two securities settlement systems for the cross-border transfer of securities through a book-entry process.
Link between securities settlement systems: procedures and arrangements between securities settlement systems (SSSs) for the transfer of securities through a book-entry process.
Link between securities settlement systems: a link consists of all the procedures and arrangements which exist between two securities settlement systems (SSSs) for the transfer of securities between the two SSSs concerned through a book-entry process.
It's like... trying to read a book where one chapter was written in Chinese, one in cyrillic and another in hieroglyphics and then the pages are fed through a shredder and pasted back together.
Links between securities settlement systems: the procedure between two securities settlement systems for the cross-border transfer of securities through a book-entry process (without physical transfer).
Link: a link consists of all the procedures and arrangements between two securities settlement systems (SSSs) for the transfer of securities between the two involved SSSs through a book-entry process.
Link between securities settlement systems: a link consists of all the procedures and arrangements which exist between two securities settlement systems (SSSs) for the transfer of securities between the two SSSs concerned through a book-entry process.
ANNEX 2 Link between securities settlement systems: a link consists of all the procedures and arrangements which exist between two securities settlement systems (SSSs) for the transfer of securities between the two SSSs concerned through a book-entry process.
Link between securities settlement systems: a link consists of all the procedures and arrangements which exist between two securities settlement systems (SSSs) for the transfer of securities between the two SSSs concerned through a book-entry process.
Link between securities settlement systems: a link consists of all the procedures and arrangements which exist between two securities settlement systems (SSSs) for the transfer of securities between the two SSSs concerned through a book-entry process.
Link between securities settlement systems: a link consists of all the procedures and arrangements which exist between two securities settlement systems (SSSs) for the transfer of securities between the two SSSs concerned through a book-entry process.

Alternatives:

skim a book
skim over a book
skim read a book
quickly skim a book
glance through a book

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skim a book vs skim through a book

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