Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TRIM, v.t. [Sax. trumian, trymian, to make firm or strong, to strengthen, to prepare, to put in order.]

1. In a general sense, to make right, that is, to put in due order for any purpose. The hermit trimm'd his little fire. Goldsmith.
2. To dress; to put the body in a proper state. I was trimm'd in Julia's gown. Shak.
3. To decorate; to invest or embellish with extra ornaments; as, to trim a gown with lace. Dryden.
4. To clip, as the hair of the head; also, to shave; that is, to put in due order.
5. To lop, as superfluous branches; to prune; as, to trim trees. Mortimer.
6. To supply with oil; as, to trim a lamp.
7. To make neat; to adjust. I found her trimming up the diadem / On her dead mistress. Shak.
8. In carpentry, to dress, as timber; to make smooth.
9. To adjust the cargo of a ship, or the weight of persons or goods in a boat, so equally on each side of the center and at each end, that she shall sit well on the water and sail well. Thus we say, to trim a ship or a boat.
10. To rebuke; to reprove sharply; a popular use of the word.
11. To arrange in due order for sailing; as, to trim the sails. To trim in, in carpentry, to fit, as a piece of timber into other work. Moxon. Trim up, to dress; to put in order.