noun, verb, -capped, -cap⋅ping.| 1. | a race or other contest in which certain disadvantages or advantages of weight, distance, time, etc., are placed upon competitors to equalize their chances of winning. |
| 2. | the disadvantage or advantage itself. |
| 3. | any disadvantage that makes success more difficult: The main handicap of our business is lack of capital. |
| 4. | a physical or mental disability making participation in certain of the usual activities of daily living more difficult. |
| 5. | to place at a disadvantage; disable or burden: He was handicapped by his injured ankle. |
| 6. | to subject to a disadvantageous handicap, as a competitor of recognized superiority. |
| 7. | to assign handicaps to (competitors). |
| 8. | Sports.
|

hand·i·cap (hān'dē-kāp') n.
[From obsolete hand in cap, a game in which forfeits were held in a cap.] |
handicap hand·i·cap (hān'dē-kāp')
n.
A physical, mental, or emotional condition that interferes with one's normal functioning.