limited

[ lim-i-tid ]
See synonyms for limited on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. confined within limits; restricted or circumscribed: a limited space; limited resources.

  2. Government. restricted with reference to governing powers by limitations prescribed in laws and in a constitution, as in limited monarchy; limited government.

  1. characterized by an inability to think imaginatively or independently; lacking originality or scope; narrow: a rather limited intelligence.

  2. Chiefly British.

    • responsible for the debts of a company only to a specified amount proportionate to the percentage of stock held.

    • (of a business firm) owned by stockholders, each having a restricted liability for the company's debts.

    • (usually initial capital letter) incorporated; Inc. Abbreviation: Ltd.

  3. (of railroad trains, buses, etc.) making only a limited number of stops en route.

noun
  1. a limited train, bus, etc.

Origin of limited

1
First recorded in 1545–55; limit + -ed2

Other words from limited

  • lim·it·ed·ly, adverb
  • lim·it·ed·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use limited in a sentence

  • The balm of sympathy comes to him limitedly; humanity is as cold as the frozen streams of his winter's retreat.

    The Lumberjack Sky Pilot | Thomas D. Whittles
  • Banjos and fiddles (violins) were owned only limitedly by antebellum Negroes.

    Negro Folk Rhymes | Thomas W. Talley

British Dictionary definitions for limited

limited

/ (ˈlɪmɪtɪd) /


adjective
  1. having a limit; restricted; confined

  2. without fullness or scope; narrow

  1. (of governing powers, sovereignty, etc) restricted or checked, by or as if by a constitution, laws, or an assembly: limited government

  2. US and Canadian (of a train) stopping only at certain stations and having only a set number of cars for passengers

  3. mainly British (of a business enterprise) owned by shareholders whose liability for the enterprise's debts is restricted

noun
  1. US and Canadian a limited train, bus, etc

Derived forms of limited

  • limitedly, adverb
  • limitedness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012