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limber

 [lim-ber]   Example Sentences Origin

lim·ber

1   [lim-ber]
adjective
1.
characterized by ease in bending the body; supple; lithe.
2.
bending readily; flexible; pliant.
verb (used without object)
3.
to make oneself limber (usually followed by up): to limber up before the game.

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Limber is one of our favorite verbs.
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to flee; abscond:
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
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verb (used with object)
4.
to make (something) limber (usually followed by up): She tried to limber up her wits before the exam.
Origin:
1555–65; perhaps akin to limb1

Related forms
lim·ber·ly, adverb
lim·ber·ness, noun

Synonyms
2. pliable. See flexible.

Antonyms
1, 2. stiff. 2. rigid, unbending.

Example Sentences
  • Now he has reported to camp, feeling more limber than he has in years.
  • It might even spur some in the web's paunchier quarters to limber up.
  • Use mild stretching exercises to keep them limber and moving.
EXPAND
Dictionary.com Unabridged

lim·ber

2   [lim-ber] Military
noun
1.
a two-wheeled vehicle, originally pulled by four or six horses, behind which is towed a field gun or caisson.
verb (used with object)
2.
to attach the limber to (a gun) in preparation for moving away (sometimes followed by up).
verb (used without object)
3.
to attach a limber to a gun (usually followed by up).
Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English lymo(u)r pole of a vehicle. See limb1, -er1

lim·ber

3   [lim-ber]
noun
Usually, limbers. Nautical. a passage or gutter in which seepage collects to be pumped away, located on each side of a central keelson; bilge.
Origin:
1620–30; perhaps < French lumière hole, light < Late Latin lūmināria; see luminaria
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To LIMBER
Collins
World English Dictionary
limber1 (ˈlɪmbə)
 
—adj
1.  capable of being easily bent or flexed; pliant
2.  able to move or bend freely; agile
 
[C16: origin uncertain]
 
'limberly1
 
—adv
 
'limberness1
 
—n

limber2 (ˈlɪmbə)
 
—n
1.  part of a gun carriage, often containing ammunition, consisting of an axle, pole, and two wheels, that is attached to the rear of an item of equipment, esp field artillery
 
—vb
2.  (usually foll by up) to attach the limber (to a gun, etc)
 
[C15 lymour shaft of a gun carriage, origin uncertain]

limber3 (ˈlɪmbə)
 
—n
(often plural) nautical (in the bilge of a vessel) a fore-and-aft channel through a series of holes in the frames (limber holes) where water collects and can be pumped out
 
[C17: probably changed from French lumière hole (literally: light)]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

limber
1565, of uncertain origin, possibly from limb on notion of supple boughs of a tree, or from limp "flaccid," or somehow from M.E. lymer "shaft of a cart" (see limber (n.)).
EXPAND

limber
"detachable forepart of a gun carriage," 1480, probably related to Fr. limonière "wagon with two shafts," from limon "shaft," probably of Celtic origin.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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