brim.
Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge.
Meaning & usage
Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge.
Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge. The topmost lip or rim of a container, or a natural feature shaped like a container.
The toy box was filled to the brim with stuffed animals.
Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge. A projecting rim.
Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge. A projecting rim. That of a hat.
He turned the back of his brim up stylishly.
Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge. The upper edge or surface of water.
Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge. The surface of the ground.
Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge. A brink or edge.
Where this word comes from
The noun is derived from Middle English brymme, brimme (“bank or edge of a lake or river; shore of a sea; brink; rim”); of unclear origin; compare Middle High German brem (“margin”). The verb is derived from the noun. cognates * Bavarian Bräm (“border, stripe”) * Danish bræmme (“border, edge, brim”) * obsolete German Bräme, Brame (“border, edge”) * Swedish bräm (“border, edge”) * Icelandic barmur (“edge, verge, brink”)
To fill (a container) to the brim (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1.1), top, or upper edge.
To fill (something) fully.
To be full until almost overflowing.
The room brimmed with people.
Where this word comes from
The noun is derived from Middle English brymme, brimme (“bank or edge of a lake or river; shore of a sea; brink; rim”); of unclear origin; compare Middle High German brem (“margin”). The verb is derived from the noun. cognates * Bavarian Bräm (“border, stripe”) * Danish bræmme (“border, edge, brim”) * obsolete German Bräme, Brame (“border, edge”) * Swedish bräm (“border, edge”) * Icelandic barmur (“edge, verge, brink”)
The sea; ocean; water; flood.
Where this word comes from
Inherited from Northern Middle English brym, bryme (“waterbody”), from Old English brim (“sea, surf”), from Proto-Germanic *brimą (“turbulence, surge; surf, sea”), from Proto-Germanic *bremaną (“to roar”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrem- (“to hum, make a noise”).
Synonym of bream (“a freshwater fish from one of a number of genera”); specifically (US), the redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus).
Where this word comes from
A variant of bream.
Of a boar (“male pig”): to mate with (a sow (“female pig”)); to rut.
Of a sow: to be in heat; to rut; also, to mate with a boar.
Where this word comes from
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-Germanic *bramjaną, *bremaną (“to roar”); both from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrem- (“to make noise”). The noun is derived from Middle English brim, from the verb: see above.
The period when a sow (“female pig”) is ready to mate; a heat, an oestrus, a rut; also, an act of a boar (“male pig”) and sow mating.
Where this word comes from
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-Germanic *bramjaną, *bremaną (“to roar”); both from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrem- (“to make noise”). The noun is derived from Middle English brim, from the verb: see above.
Synonym of breme (“of the sea, wind, etc.: fierce; raging; stormy, tempestuous”).
Where this word comes from
A variant of breme.
An irascible, violent woman.
Where this word comes from
Clipping of brimstone (“sulphur; (figurative) a domineering, scolding woman”).
Try it on your idea.
brim has 4 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.