trim down

trim down

1. To become lighter or thinner by losing weight. I'm trying to trim down before my wedding this summer.
2. To cause someone or something to lose weight or become less bulky. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "trim" and "down." We need to trim down our luggage or we'll get charged a fortune at the airport! I just want to trim my belly fat down a little bit. He really could have used a good editor to trim the book down a tad.
3. To remove or discard small amounts of something, especially that which is excessive or unwanted. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "trim" and "down." The company is selling a more modest version of the phone, trimming down the specs as well as the cost. We'll need to trim the number of guests down if we want to stay under budget.
See also: down, trim
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

trim (oneself) down

to take action to become slimmer or lose weight. I need to trim myself down before I go on vacation. I decided to trim down, but I never got around to it. You really need to trim down and stay at a lower weight.
See also: down, trim

trim something down

to reduce the size of something. You will have to trim the picture down to get it into the frame. Trim down the picture before you frame it.
See also: down, trim
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

trim down

v.
1. To reduce something by or as if by cutting away the excess: The company is trimming down its budget this year. The editor trimmed the long manuscript down to 200 pages.
2. To lose weight, as by dieting or exercise: The doctor advised me to trim down.
See also: down, trim
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • collapse under
  • collapse under the weight of (someone or something)
  • weigh out
  • fat farm
  • weigh in
  • weigh in at (something)
  • carry (one's) weight
  • pull one's (own) weight, to
  • weight
  • do to excess
References in periodicals archive
Each night she tries to trim down the time her change routines take with a current record of just 45 seconds.
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Mr Patten, whom Hong Kong media sometimes referred to as Fat Pang, is said to plan to trim down before filming of the documentary begins, in the autumn.
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One way of maximizing the potential earnings of these three investments is to trim down on expenses attached to them.
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Deutsche Bank has announced a plan to trim down its business.
Deutsche Bank looking to trim business
According to the reports, OGRA authorities witnessed a decline in the international market by $3 and have decreased at $121 per barrel so the government should trim down the price of Petrol by Rs1, High Octane Blended Component (HOBC) Rs4.89, light diesel oil (LDO) Rs1.64, high speed diesel oil Rs1.31, and Rs2.13 per litre in the price of Kerosene oil for next month.
Petroleum Ministry receives OGRA proposal to cut in POL prices
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Iraqi Parliament has announced on Sunday its reception of a message from Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, to trim down his Cabinet to 29 ministries, instead of its current 43 ministries, according to the Parliament's Member, Mohammed al-Khalidy.
PM Maliki to trim his Cabinet to 29 ministries
"In the Spice days it was a case of if we had a video coming up I'd be great and diet and work out the week before to trim down. Nowadays I feel like I need five months to get prepared.
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Melbourne, November 20 (ANI): Rumours are rife that a picture of golden girl Stephanie Rice in this month's Inside Sport magazine was digitally treated to trim down her post-Olympic figure.
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It is royal blue, with a large section of white trim down the left-hand side.
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Lorraine Kelly is an attractive woman, who must have worked hard to trim down to the figure she has today.
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'My stomach area is the hardest one to trim down since I have diastasis recti so ab exercises are pretty limited.'
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The Australian central bank is said to be looking to trim down the value of the local currency.
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