A Shim Is a Thin Piece That Makes Things Fit
A shim is a thin strip used to fill a gap or level a surface. Its origin is unknown.
A shim is a thin piece of material inserted to fill a gap, level a surface or adjust a fit. Carpenters shim a door frame, engineers shim a bearing, and the word has moved into software with the same meaning exactly: a shim is a small layer of code that sits between two components so they can work together without either being modified. The metaphor survived the jump intact. Its origin is unknown, first recorded in the 1600s as a dialect word in Kent.
- A thin filler. *A wooden shim.*
- To level. *Shimming the frame.*
- A code layer. *A compatibility shim.*
- A washer-like spacer. *A shim.*
- Unknown origin. *The 1600s.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | shim | A shim. |
| Plural | shims | Shims. |
| Verb | shim | Shimming. |
| Related | spacer | A spacer. |
| Related | wedge | A wedge. |
- He shimmed the door frame.Carpentry.
- A brass shim.Engineering.
- A compatibility shim.Software.
Workshop words in software
- Shim — a thin layer bridging two components
- Patch — a repair applied over a fault
- Bug — an insect, then any defect
- Kludge — a clumsy but working fix
- Bootstrap — pulling yourself up by your own straps
Origin unknown, recorded from the 1600s as a dialect word in Kent.
What is a shim in software?
A thin layer of code that sits between two components so they can work together without modifying either.
What is the difference between a shim and a wedge?
A shim is a parallel-sided filler; a wedge tapers and is driven in to force things apart.