verb (used without object)
2.
to proceed in a lame, faltering, or labored manner: His writing limps from one cliché to another. The old car limped along.
3.
to progress slowly and with great difficulty; make little or no advance: an economy that limps along at a level just above total bankruptcy.
noun
4.
a lame movement or gait: The accident left him with a slight limp.
Origin:
1560–70; back formation from obsolete limphault lame; Old English lemphealt limping (see halt2); akin to Middle High German limpfen to limp
1560–70; back formation from obsolete limphault lame; Old English lemphealt limping (see halt2); akin to Middle High German limpfen to limp
Related forms
limp·er, noun
limp·ing·ly, adverb
00:10
Limp
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
adjective, limp·er, limp·est.
1.
lacking stiffness or firmness, as of substance, fiber, structure, or bodily frame: a limp body.
2.
lacking vitality; weary; tired; fatigued: Limp with exhaustion, she dropped into the nearest chair.
3.
without firmness, force, energy, etc., as of character: limp, spiritless prose.
4.
flexible; not stiff or rigid: a Bible in a limp leather binding.
Origin:
1700–10; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Icelandic limpa slackness, limpilegur soft, flabby
1700–10; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Icelandic limpa slackness, limpilegur soft, flabby
Related forms
limp·ly, adverb
limp·ness, noun
Synonyms
1. flabby, flaccid, soft. 2, 3. feeble, weak.
1. flabby, flaccid, soft. 2, 3. feeble, weak.
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.
Cite This Source
|
Link To limp
Collins
World English Dictionary
limp1 (lɪmp) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to walk with an uneven step, esp with a weak or injured leg |
| 2. | to advance in a labouring or faltering manner |
| —n | |
| 3. | an uneven walk or progress |
| [C16: probably a back formation from obsolete limphalt lame, from Old English lemphealt; related to Middle High German limpfen to limp] | |
| 'limper1 | |
| —n | |
| 'limping1 | |
| —adj, —n | |
| 'limpingly1 | |
| —adv | |
| limp2 (lɪmp) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | not firm or stiff |
| 2. | not energetic or vital |
| 3. | (of the binding of a book) not stiffened with boards |
| [C18: probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Icelandic limpa looseness] | |
| 'limply2 | |
| —adv | |
| 'limpness2 | |
| —n | |
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
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
limp
c.1400, of uncertain origin, probably from O.E. lemphealt "halting, lame, limping," which has a lone cognate in the rare M.H.G. limphin, and probably ult. is from PIE base *lomb- "slack, loose, to hang down" (cf. Skt. lambate "hangs down," L. limbus "hem, border," M.H.G. lampen "to hang down").
limp
1706, "flaccid, drooping," of obscure origin, perhaps related to limp (v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
limp (lĭmp)
n.
An irregular, jerky, or awkward gait; a claudication. v. limped, limp·ing, limps
To walk lamely, especially with irregularity, as if favoring one leg.
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.
Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
LIMP definition
["Messages in Typed Languages", J. Hunt et al, SIGPLAN Notices 14(1):27-45 (Jan 1979)].
Example sentences
Thirteen surgeries later, he could walk again, with a limp and a cane.
If you have a rough landing and you've got one broken ankle, you can limp off the plane.
And, of course, that stops you dead until you jump over the dead battery and limp home.
And for many it will crash into the consciousness and leave the emotions limp.
Nearby Words
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