brim

Everyday

1. The brim of a cup, glass or bowl is its top edge: full to the brim. tree →
2. The brim of a hat is the flat part that sticks out around the bottom and shades your face. tree →
3. To brim (with) means to be full to the top: eyes brimming with tears, brimming with ideas. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life and safety: a hat with a wide brim protects the face, ears and neck from the sun («no hat, no play» at Australian schools). In science, filling a container «to the brim» shows its full capacity; liquids can overflow. In stories, «brimming with excitement» or «eyes brimming with tears» shows strong feeling. Phrases: to the brim, full to the brim, wide-brimmed hat, brimming with.

Examples

• The cup was full to the brim, so I carried it slowly. tree →
• Wear a hat with a wide brim in the sun. tree →
• The baseball cap only has a brim at the front. tree →
• Her eyes were brimming with tears. tree →
• The class was brimming with ideas for the play. tree →
• The bath filled to the brim and almost overflowed. tree →
• And she took the brazen pitcher that she had brought with her, and filled it to the brim. tree →

Note

Double m: brimmed, brimming. «Brim» of a cup is the top edge; «rim» is any edge or border — they are close in meaning. A cap's front brim is also called a «peak» (UK) or «bill/visor» (US).

In Jewish tradition

In everyday life and safety: a hat with a wide brim protects the face, ears and neck from the sun («no hat, no play» at Australian schools). In science, filling a container «to the brim» shows its full capacity; liquids can overflow. In stories, «brimming with excitement» or «eyes brimming with tears» shows strong feeling. Phrases: to the brim, full to the brim, wide-brimmed hat, brimming with.

Examples

• And it was a hand-breadth thick; and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; it held two thousand baths. (Prophets 1KI.7.26, JPS 1917) tree →
• And it was a handbreadth thick; and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it received and held three thousand baths. (Writings 2CH.4.5, JPS 1917) tree →
• And he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and the height thereof was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. (Prophets 1KI.7.23, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Double m: brimmed, brimming. «Brim» of a cup is the top edge; «rim» is any edge or border — they are close in meaning. A cap's front brim is also called a «peak» (UK) or «bill/visor» (US).