How to Use dim in a Sentence

dim

1 of 3 adjective
Definition of dimnext
Synonyms for dimnext
  • Just the dim outline of the building could be seen through the fog.
  • I have a dim memory of your last visit.
  • At the heart of this system is a small, dim star called a red dwarf.
    — Kaitlin Rasmussen, Scientific American, 14 Sep. 2023
  • On a floor above one of the lobbies, the lights overhead were dim.
    — Mike Isaac, New York Times, 4 Nov. 2022
  • The rats were placed in a dim-lit box and played the music through a speaker.
    — Jacquelyne Germain, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Nov. 2022
  • The dim lights inside were kept off for the same reason.
    — John Branch, BostonGlobe.com, 2 July 2023
  • Keep in Mind: The clock display is too dim to read easily in the middle of the night.
    — Deanne Revel, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Mar. 2023
  • There are a few reasons that the WTO is taking a dim view of global trade next year.
    — Prarthana Prakash, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2022
  • With the GOP now controlling the House, the bill’s prospects for passage again appear dim.
    — John Fritze, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2023
  • The flash was too dim to have come from a merger with another star.
    — Quanta Magazine, 20 Dec. 2023
  • The object will look like a dim light moving through the sky just ahead of the fast-moving and much brighter space station.
    — Sabienna Bowman, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023
  • India hopes to avert a repeat of that, but prospects appear dim.
    — Matthew Lee, ajc, 2 Mar. 2023
  • According to Bruin, this app is a nice option for when the sun is very bright and the phone screen goes dim.
    — José Adorno, BGR, 17 Oct. 2022
  • The upholstery is a dusky velour with a warm brownness that appears pure black in dim light.
    — Larry Griffin, Car and Driver, 18 Apr. 2023
  • This helps explain how worms avoid mistaking the dim light of dawn and dusk for moonlight.
    — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 19 Dec. 2023
  • To mimic a marine environment, the lights are kept a dim, deep aqua blue that makes the salmon seem to glow.
    — Melissa Clark, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2023
  • The quick switch Too often room lighting is simply too dim.
    — Charlotte Observer, 30 Jan. 2024
  • In fact, that is one dim little bright spot in this story: Things wear out anyway.
    — Curbed, 28 July 2023
  • This is especially true in the dim light of dawn or dusk, which is when deer are most active.
    — Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 6 July 2023
  • Chief Barnett met me in his dim office, where the windows were hung with strings of blue-and-white Christmas lights.
    — Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Inside was a relic and a challenge — the bones of an old ship, barely visible in the dim light.
    — Carl Nolte, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Mar. 2023
  • Of course, at several light years away, many of those stars would look pretty dim from Earth.
    — Brian Jackson, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2023
  • This easy houseplant seems to light up even the dimmest corner with its patterned foliage.
    — Savanna Bous, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Dec. 2023
  • Gunn goes for a gritty, dim look to give the film the air of authentic social realism.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2024
  • The mood was equally dim among the 22 Democrats sitting in governor’s mansions across the country.
    — Daniel Strauss, The New Republic, 7 Oct. 2022
  • The romance between Rustin and the preacher exists in the shadows — under the dim lights of a nearby bar or behind the blinds in Rustin’s home.
    — Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2023
  • Whenever it’s plugged in, this warmer features a dim light that’s always on.
    — Maya Polton, Parents, 4 Aug. 2023
  • Also keep in mind that the second quarter moon will block most of the dim meteors on the night of November 4.
    — Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 18 Jan. 2023
  • In dim settings, sharks are about 10 times more sensitive to light than humans are.
    — Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 26 Oct. 2023
  • And with the border taking center stage in the presidential race, prospects for any fix are dim.
    — Miriam Jordan, New York Times, 28 Nov. 2023
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dim

2 of 3 verb
  • Hopes of an early settlement have dimmed.
  • The latest setback has dimmed hopes of an early settlement.
  • As the sun set and the sky dimmed, the birds kept coming.
    — Ned Rozell | Alaska Science, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Apr. 2023
  • Spotlights in the room dim and brighten out of sync with the song.
    — Martha Schwendener, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
  • For a couple of hours, the light of the moon is dimmed, changing the entire look of the sky.
    — ELLE, 1 May 2023
  • When the lights dimmed and the speakers were tuned louder, eyes would go to the video board.
    — Nick Alvarez | Nalvarez@al.com, al, 10 May 2023
  • Horses will head for the barn when the light starts dimming.
    — Dan Falk, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Apr. 2023
  • But that beacon’s light dimmed when her award went missing at the end of the 1960s.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Of course as a smart bulb, it can be dimmed for mood lighting.
    — Brad Moon, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
  • The lights dimmed, and all the apology props were wheeled offstage.
    — Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2023
  • Not even the bacon could provide enough salt to dim the light of the maple frosting.
    — Bahar Anooshahr, The Arizona Republic, 7 Sep. 2023
  • Look for alarm clocks that have displays that dim or shut off overnight.
    — Emily P.g. Erickson, Health, 11 Dec. 2023
  • The control panel can be dimmed if the light bothers you at night.
    — Camryn Rabideau, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024
  • That was what families did in 1942, with the shades drawn and the lights dimmed in the midst of a terrible war.
    — Charles Osgood, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2024
  • Just a mile off the coast, the megalopolis’ light pollution dims enough for a clear view of the stars.
    — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
  • So, the allure of core and flexible hours might dim in 2024.
    — Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 30 Dec. 2023
  • The actor and director stayed for a few minutes, and then the lights dimmed again, and the movie began.
    — Anumita Kaur, Washington Post, 13 July 2023
  • My daughter turned to me with a toothy grin and a light in her eyes that could not be dimmed by matters of the adult world.
    — Caitlin Gunther, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Nov. 2023
  • The lights dim and Daniel Melingo walks on stage to an eruption of applause.
    — Matthew Dursum, SPIN, 20 Nov. 2023
  • The zone has reduced noise levels, dimmed lighting and toys.
    — Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
  • With it, there’s no need to wait for the cabin crew to dim the lights or worry if the Airbnb has blackout shades.
    — Annie Gabillet, Travel + Leisure, 31 Oct. 2023
  • The free-agent market is drying up for the Houston Astros as the hot stove begins to dim near the start of 2023.
    — Michael Shapiro, Chron, 13 Dec. 2022
  • Have all the kids settle into their sleeping bags and dim the lights.
    — Laura Fenton, Parents, 6 Oct. 2023
  • There in the theatre, the lights would dim, the curtain would rise, the music would start, and my father would take my hand as the dancers took the stage.
    — Emily Ziff Griffin, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2024
  • The chances of finding more survivors will only dim as the hours and days grow, experts say.
    — Gulsin Harman, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2023
  • What if fixing them in language changes them, dims their light?
    — Phoebe Chen, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2023
  • Keep lights in the bedroom dim and choose LED lights that have more reddish or brownish tones.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 12 Mar. 2023
  • To set the scene, Eddie Hudson, a bartender, would blast the steam valves on the two espresso machines and dim the lights.
    — Penelope Green, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024
  • But an eclipse dims the sun much faster and can do it at an inconvenient time of day.
    — Gregory Barber, WIRED, 13 Oct. 2023
  • But age had not dimmed the sparkle in her eyes and her vivacious spirit.
    — Susan Young, Peoplemag, 14 Feb. 2024
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dim

3 of 3 noun
  • As usual, most of the curtains were drawn, and the house dim.
    — Brett Murphy, ProPublica, 20 Nov. 2022
  • The house lights dim, an engine roars, and stars flame and flicker out.
    — New York Times, 11 Jan. 2018
  • From Earth, the immense stone appears as a dim yellow dot.
    — Fox News, 27 June 2018
  • Like the planet Tatooine from Star Wars, two suns — one bright, one dim and red— rise over the horizon of Kepler 47d.
    — Korey Haynes, Discover Magazine, 16 Apr. 2019
  • Not because our desire for justice dims, but because the chance of achieving it does.
    — Fox News, 18 Sep. 2018
  • And maybe those fans can help change the small percentage and the small minds of the obtuse, the dim, the dense, and maybe those in positions of power who should, will, in fact, listen to what the man has to say.
    — Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 2 July 2021
  • Like the movie’s plot, the kitchen on display — off-white bead board cabinets, Mediterranean tiles — feels dim, dated and, well, sort of suburban.
    — Penelope Green, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2017
  • Replicate this nationally, and the Democrats’ prospects for 2024 and after looking dim.
    — Max B. Sawicky, The New Republic, 30 Aug. 2021
  • The moon gradually glides into the Earth's shadow, until most of the lunar disk turns from silvery gray to an eerie dim orange or red.
    — Brooks Sutherland, The Enquirer, 18 Nov. 2021
  • The moon gradually glides into Earth's shadow, until most of the lunar disk turns from silvery grey to an eerie dim orange or red.
    — Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 17 Nov. 2021
  • The moon gradually glides into Earth's shadow, until most of the lunar disk turns from silvery gray to an eerie dim orange or red.
    — Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 18 Nov. 2021
  • The church was nearly dark, and as eyes adjusted to the dim, the interior came slowly into view: a long nave, an old stone roof and a crucifix at the altar in front of a red drape.
    — New York Times, 2 Jan. 2022
  • Stocks in Europe and Asia fell broadly as the global prospects for economic growth dim amid trade uncertainty.
    — Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 1 Oct. 2019
  • David would drive to JPL's dim, theater-like mission-control room to get started, and Bryn would find things for the kids to do—taking them on late-night bike rides, to diners and all-night bowling alleys.
    — Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, 3 Nov. 2016
  • Antique landscape paintings in golden frames hang next to funky potted ferns, giving the restaurant a vintage Mediterranean look that works best in the dim, candlelit lighting of the evening.
    — Andi Berlin, The Arizona Republic, 6 Feb. 2022
  • Having the iPhone 14’s always-on display dim and showing the entire wallpaper might not seem efficient for the battery.
    — Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 1 Aug. 2022
  • The claustrophobia of this—of fire turning the entire West Coast dim with smoke, on top of the fear, isolation, and long-term lockdown imposed by the pandemic—is almost too much to bear.
    — Emma Marris, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2020
  • The listing only features photos of the building’s brick exterior, but other, pricier units in the co-op look just fine, if not a little dim.
    — Willy Blackmore, Curbed, 11 May 2021
  • Even so, scientists say, the chance to constrain global warming to about 1.5 degrees or at least below 2 degrees is growing dim.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 11 Oct. 2021
  • Prospects for a January stimulus payment via the advanced Child Tax Credit are growing dim.
    — Leada Gore | Lgore@al.com, al, 17 Dec. 2021
  • To sing her latest song in a red dim-lit room outfitted with a karaoke machine, Lorde wore a mesh bodysuit with a black bra underneath, a single gold chain, and a pair of perfectly worn-in mom jeans.
    — Marissa G. Muller, Teen Vogue, 22 May 2017
  • Our next stop, Golden Paramount, was a different kind of dim-sum experience.
    — Taras Grescoe, New York Times, 4 June 2018
  • Brightly colored clothing can cast a dim, reflected glow.
    — Sophie Bushwick, Scientific American, 6 Oct. 2021
  • Turns out the fading natural light illuminated some striking details about the food that might otherwise be hidden in the dim of the dining room.
    — Mike Sula, Chicago Reader, 22 June 2017
  • In the dim, red light of an alien sun, scientists have found the first evidence for water in the atmosphere of a rocky planet - offering a tantalizing new target in the search for life in the universe.
    — Sarah Kaplan, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Sep. 2019
  • Pickles, played by Sara Jean Larson Greenberg, is the dim, knock-kneed trailer park waif with a constant case of hysterical pregnancy.
    — Author: Tamara Ikenberg, Alaska Dispatch News, 29 July 2017
  • The real question is much tougher to answer: If LaBeouf’s instability informs his acting, will damping the one dim the other?
    — Matthew Brookes, Esquire, 13 Mar. 2018
  • Cepheids, or stars that periodically brighten and dim, have long been the gold standard of cosmic mile markers.
    — Julia Musto, Fox News, 20 May 2022
  • The wake/dim will help extend the battery life, as the display panel is typically the largest battery drainer in any laptop when it's not cranked up for maximum performance.
    — Matthew Buzzi, PCMAG, 28 Feb. 2022
  • Served alongside Gobindobhog rice, which is shorter and stickier than the basmati found in many Indian dishes, the macher dim will be made only five to seven times a day.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 22 Sep. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dim.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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