What is "trimmer"

Trimmer \Trim"mer\, n.

1. One who trims, arranges, fits, or ornaments.

2. One who does not adopt extreme opinions in politics, or the like; one who fluctuates between parties, so as to appear to favor each; a timeserver.

   Thus Halifax was a trimmer on principle.
   --Macaulay.

3. An instrument with which trimming is done.

4. (Arch.) A beam, into which are framed the ends of headers in floor framing, as when a hole is to be left for stairs, or to avoid bringing joists near chimneys, and the like. See Illust. of Header.

5. (Coal Storage) An apparatus used for piling the coal in gradually increasing piles made by building up at the point of the cone or top of the prism.

Trim \Trim\, a. [Compar. Trimmer; superl. Trimmest.] [See Trim, v. t.] Fitly adjusted; being in good order., or made ready for service or use; firm; compact; snug; neat; fair; as, the ship is trim, or trim built; everything about the man is trim; a person is trim when his body is well shaped and firm; his dress is trim when it fits closely to his body, and appears tight and snug; a man or a soldier is trim when he stands erect.

With comely carriage of her countenance trim.
--Spenser.

So deemed I till I viewed their trim array Of boats last night.
--Trench.

1550s, "one who trims," agent noun from trim (v.). Meaning "one who changes opinions, actions, etc. to suit circumstances" is from 1680s, from the verb in the nautical sense of "adjust the balance of sails or yards with reference to the wind's direction" (1620s).

a. (en-comparative of: trim) n. 1 One who trims, arranges, fits, or ornaments. 2 A device used to trim. 3 (context nautical English) A member of the crew who trims the sails. 4 Someone who fluctuates between opposing factions, political party etc., according to current interest. 5 (context architecture English) A beam into which are framed the ends of headers in floor framing, as when a hole is to be left for stairs, or to avoid bringing joists near chimneys. 6 A device for storing coal in gradually increasing piles made by building up at the point of the cone or top of the prism.

1. adj. thin and fit; "the spare figure of a marathon runner"; "a body kept trim by exercise" [syn: spare]

2. (used of hair) neat and tidy; "a nicely kempt beard" [syn: kempt, tidy]

3. of places; characterized by order and neatness; free from disorder; "even the barn was shipshape"; "a trim little sailboat" [syn: shipshape, well-kept]

4. (of persons) neat and smart in appearance; "a clean-cut and well-bred young man"; "the trig corporal in his jaunty cap" [syn: clean-cut, trig]

5. severely simple in line or design; "a neat tailored suit"; "tailored curtains" [syn: tailored]

6. [also: trimming, trimmed, trimmest, trimmer]

1. n. a worker who thins out and trims trees and shrubs; "untouched by the pruner's axe" [syn: pruner]

2. a machine that trims timber

3. capacitor having variable capacitance; used for making fine adjustments [syn: trimming capacitor]

4. joist that receives the end of a header in floor or roof framing in order to leave an opening for a staircase or chimney etc. [syn: trimmer joist]

1. n. a state of arrangement or appearance; "in good trim" [syn: trimness]

2. a decoration or adornment on a garment; "the trimming on a hat"; "the trim on a shirt" [syn: trimming, passementerie]

3. attitude of an aircraft in flight when allowed to take its own orientation

4. cutting down to the desired size or shape [syn: trimming, clipping]

5. [also: trimming, trimmed, trimmest, trimmer]

See trim

1. v. remove the edges from and cut down to the desired size; "pare one's fingernails"; "trim the photograph"; "trim lumber" [syn: pare]

2. decorate, as with ornaments; "trim the christmas tree"; "trim a shop window"

3. cut down on; make a reduction in; "reduce your daily fat intake"; "The employer wants to cut back health benefits" [syn: reduce, cut down, cut back, trim down, trim back, cut, bring down]

4. balance in flight by regulating the control surfaces; "trim an airplane"

5. be in equilibrium during a flight; "The airplane trimmed"

6. decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods [syn: garnish, dress]

7. cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of; "dress the plants in the garden" [syn: snip, clip, crop, lop, dress, prune, cut back]

8. cut closely; "trim my beard" [syn: shave]

9. adjust (sails on a ship) so that the wind is optimally used

10. [also: trimming, trimmed, trimmest, trimmer]

In light-frame construction, a trimmer is a timber or metal beam (joist) used to create an opening around a stairwell, skylight, chimney, and the like. Trimmers are installed parallel to the primary floor or ceiling joists and support headers, which run perpendicular to the primary joists.

It can also refer to a jack stud that supports a header above a window or door opening.

Traditionally, a stud which was less than full length was sometimes referred to as a cripple.

Trimmer may refer to:

• Trimmer (construction), beam used in construction
• Trimmer (electronics), small electrical component
• Trimmer (gardening), gardening power tool
• Trimmer (surname)
• Trimmer, California, community in Fresno County
• Laminate trimmer, wood-working tool
• Coal trimmer, also known as a trimmer, a person who distributes coal on a steam ship
• Hair clipper
• George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, author of The Character of a Trimmer, which was and is often held to describe his own conduct - and therefore he has "the Trimmer" as a nickname

A trimmer or preset is a miniature adjustable electrical component. It is meant to be set correctly when installed in some device, and never seen or adjusted by the device's user. Trimmers can be variable resistors ( potentiometers), variable capacitors, or trimmable inductors. They are common in precision circuitry like A/V components, and may need to be adjusted when the equipment is serviced. Trimpots are often used to initially calibrate equipment after manufacturing. Unlike many other variable controls, trimmers are mounted directly on circuit boards, turned with a small screwdriver and rated for many fewer adjustments over their lifetime. Trimmers like trimmable inductors and trimmable capacitors are usually found in superhet radio and television receivers, in the intermediate frequency (IF), oscillator and radio frequency (RF) circuits. They are adjusted into the right position during the alignment procedure of the receiver.

Trimmers come in a variety of sizes and levels of precision. For example, multi-turn trim potentiometers exist, in which it takes several turns of the adjustment screw to reach the end value. This allows for very high degrees of accuracy. Often they make use of a worm-gear (rotary track) or a leadscrew (linear track).

In 1952, Marlan Bourns patented the world's first trimming potentiometer, trademarked "Trimpot", a name now commonly used to refer to any trimming potentiometer.

Trimmer is a surname, and may refer to:

• Barry Trimmer, English scientist studying biomechanics
• Sir Jon Trimmer (born 1939), "Jonty Trimmer", New Zealand ballet dancer
• Joshua Trimmer (1795–1857), English geologist born in Kent
• Joyce Trimmer (1927–2008), Canadian politician, first woman mayor of Scarborough, Ontario
• Lewis Trimmer (born 1989), English footballer
• Sarah Trimmer (1741–1810), English author of The Story of the Robins
• Tony Trimmer (born 1943), English racing car driver
• William Trimmer (1822–1867), winemaker and politician in South Australia