■ adjective ( ~mer , ~mest )
1》 gracefully thin; slenderly built.
↘small in width and long and narrow in shape.
2》 very small: a ~ chance.
3》 S. African crafty or unscrupulous.
■ verb ( ~s , ~ming , ~med ) Brit. make or become thinner, especially by dieting and sometimes exercising.
↘reduce (an organization) to a smaller size to make it more efficient.
■ noun
1》 a course or period of ~ming.
2》 (also ~ disease ) African term for Aids .
Derivatives
~ly adverb
~mer noun
~ness noun
Origin
C17: from Low Ger. or Du. (from a base meaning 'slanting, cross, bad'), of Gmc origin.