adjective
1.
crippled or physically disabled, especially in the foot or leg so as to limp or walk with difficulty.
2.
impaired or disabled through defect or injury: a lame arm.
3.
weak; inadequate; unsatisfactory; clumsy: a lame excuse.
4.
Slang. out of touch with modern fads or trends; unsophisticated.
verb (used with object)
5.
to make lame or defective.
00:10
Lame
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
noun
6.
Slang. a person who is out of touch with modern fads or trends, especially one who is unsophisticated.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English (adj. and v.); Old English lama (adj.); cognate with Dutch lam, German lahm, Old Norse lami; akin to Lithuanian lúomas
before 900; Middle English (adj. and v.); Old English lama (adj.); cognate with Dutch lam, German lahm, Old Norse lami; akin to Lithuanian lúomas
Related forms
lame·ly, adverb
lame·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To lame
Collins
World English Dictionary
lame1 (leɪm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | disabled or crippled in the legs or feet |
| 2. | painful or weak: a lame back |
| 3. | weak; unconvincing: a lame excuse |
| 4. | not effective or enthusiastic: a lame try |
| 5. | slang (US) conventional or uninspiring |
| —vb | |
| 6. | (tr) to make lame |
| [Old English lama; related to Old Norse lami, German lahm] | |
| 'lamely1 | |
| —adv | |
| 'lameness1 | |
| —n | |
| lame2 (leɪm) | |
| —n | |
| one of the overlapping metal plates used in armour after about 1330; splint | |
| [C16: via Old French from Latin lāmina a thin plate, | |
| lamé (ˈlɑːmeɪ) | |
| —n | |
| a. a fabric of silk, cotton, or wool interwoven with threads of metal | |
| b. (as modifier): a gold lamé gown | |
| [from French, from Old French lame gold or silver thread, thin plate, from Latin lāmina thin plate] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
lame
O.E. lama. from P.Gmc. *lamon (cf. O.N. lami, Du., O.Fris. lam, Ger. lahm "lame"), "weak-limbed," lit. "broken," from PIE base *lem- "to break" (cf. O.C.S. lomiti "to break," Lith. luomas "lame"). Sense of "socially awkward" is attested from 1942. Verb meaning "to make lame" is attested from c.1300.
Related: Lamely; lameness. Lame-brain (n.) is first recorded 1929.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
lame (lām)
adj. lam·er, lam·est
Disabled so that movement, especially walking, is difficult or impossible.
Marked by pain or rigidness.
To cause to become lame; cripple.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary
lame definitionand laine; lane
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
That's sad and lame and people looking back from a future perspective will wonder what the blazes was wrong with us.
The president now finds himself accused of being both a warmonger for entering the war and a wimp for his lame prosecution of it.
Please stop wasting tax payer dollars with lame promises of great what ever.
He walked out on two wives, without even a lame excuse.
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