skim-read
Glance through quickly
To skim-read is to read quickly, glancing over material to get the main points without absorbing every word: I only had time to skim-read the report before the meeting.
The technique involves scanning headings, first sentences, and key phrases rather than reading line by line.
Also appears as a noun: Give it a quick skim-read.
scan
Brief visual sweep
flip · leaf · thumb · scroll · preview · flick · survey · dip · sample · rifle
surface
Outermost boundary layer
- cursoryHasty and incomplete
- superficialLacking depth or substance
- shallowWithout much depth
hasty · quick · rapid · brief · hurried · light · partial · incomplete · selective · spotty
gist
Central meaning distilled
- summaryCondensed account of essentials
- overviewBroad general summary
- abstractCondensed version of text
synopsis · outline · digest · recap · gist · highlights · takeaways · essence · thrust · upshot