lame
adjective
physically disabled, especially in the foot or leg so as to limp or walk with difficulty.
lame
1 American
[laym]
/ leɪm /
adjective
-
lamer,
comparative
-
lamest
superlative
-
physically disabled, especially in the foot or leg so as to limp or walk with difficulty.
a lame racehorse.
-
impaired or disabled through defect or injury.
a lame arm.
-
weak; inadequate; unsatisfactory; clumsy.
a lame excuse.
-
Slang: Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. awkward, dull, stupid, or uninteresting.
-
Slang: Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. out of touch with modern fads or trends; unsophisticated.
verb (used with object)
-
lames,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lamed,
past participle, past
-
laming
present participle
noun
lame
2
American
[laym, la m]
/ leɪm, lam /
noun
Armor.
-
lames
plural
lamé
3
American
[lah-may, la-, la -may]
/ lɑˈmeɪ, læ-, laˈmeɪ /
noun
-
lamés
plural
lame
1
British
/ leɪm /
adjective
-
disabled or crippled in the legs or feet
-
painful or weak
a lame back
-
weak; unconvincing
a lame excuse
-
not effective or enthusiastic
a lame try
-
slang conventional or uninspiring
verb
lamé
2
British
/ ˈlɑːmeɪ /
noun
lame
3
British
/ leɪm /
noun
Sensitive Note
Many speakers do not recognize or consider the connection between the medical and slang senses of lame . Nevertheless, using a term associated with injury or disability as a general insult is sometimes perceived as insensitive to or by people with disabilities.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lamesimple
-
lamessimple
-
have lamedperfect
-
has lamedperfect
-
am lamingprogressive
-
are lamingprogressive
-
is lamingprogressive
-
have been lamingperfect progressive
-
has been lamingperfect progressive
Past
-
lamedsimple
-
had lamedperfect
-
was lamingprogressive
-
were lamingprogressive
-
had been lamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lame1
First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective and verb); Old English lama (adjective); cognate with Dutch lam, German lahm, Old Norse lami; akin to Lithuanian lúomas
Origin of lame2
1580–90; < Middle French < Latin lāmina a thin piece or plate
Origin of lamé3
1920–25; < French, equivalent to lame lame 2 + -é < Latin -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
You might describe a limping dog that's lost the use of one of its legs as lame, which means "disabled in a leg or foot." It's less common than describing injured animals as lame, but sometimes you'll hear the word lame used to describe a limping person too. This usage is generally considered to be outdated or inappropriate. Lame is probably most often used to mean generally weak or pathetic — but many people consider this usage to be offensive as well.
Vocabulary lists containing lame
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Ghost Boys
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Least Presidential Vocabulary Used by Presidential Candidates during the GOP Debate (Sept. 16, 2015)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Donald Trump could become a lame duck president after US midterm elections but prospects at the ballot box are looking brighter for ducks of the feathered variety.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
It was an already-poorly lamb, which Fiona said had not shown typical symptoms - it had been drooling, dropping food from its mouth and its legs were stiff, but not lame.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
How could the clueless become clued if their peers weren’t picking on their every lame move?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
What should have been a unique way for “Supergirl” to remark on the infantilization projected onto so many women superheroes is cast away as a joke so lame it doesn’t even deserve to be finished.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
I kept running, but even as I ran I couldn’t help but notice the beast was running awfully fast for a lame donkey.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
The crystals and lamé of their outfits played with the light from the disco ball hanging from the ceiling.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
When the college awarded him its gold medal, Hockney accepted the honor wearing a gold lamé jacket.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Hockney wore a gold lamé jacket at the ceremony, under the traditional academic gown.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Panels of silk lamé and chiffon paired with crystals and long, feather-like sequin embellishments might seem party-aesthetics only, but paired with a white tee and sandal, this slip skirt is everyday festive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2025
Then the unbelievable bright loveliness of the English Channel, a shimmering infinite lamé cloth of silver and blue.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
As for his newly created clothes, there was an “homage to the lodge” in plaid lames and cashmeres, melting into sunset-drenched oranges and pinks inspired by his Colorado vacation.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2021
But then Blane lames out on taking her, and this is where Andie really comes into her own.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 21, 2014
Teahupoo makes and breaks, or shames and sometimes even lames.
From Time Magazine Archive
The writers' lames, of course, will not be printed in the book, nor, if you so desire it, will yours.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was going to be quite a sight, and we couldn't be the only three lames in there looking like we still played with blocks.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
A warning: an expensive sporting event is usually a lamer one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
The sharing of AI-generated images online, for one thing, has gone from seeming cool and even a little spooky to lamer than an account with a blue check mark.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2023
It was such a snooze, he almost forgot to celebrate after holing his final putt and gave a lamer fist pump than Lucas Glover at the 2009 U.S.
From Golf Digest ● Feb. 26, 2019
Many spots played it safe, with wan jokes that felt even lamer than usual.
From Slate ● Feb. 6, 2017
“You had to? That’s even lamer than denying it.”
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
The family’s insecurity over this surged into view last week, when the alleged “ladies man” was photographed doing the lamest possible thing on New Year’s Eve: hanging out with his parents at Mar-a-Lago.
From Salon ● Jan. 12, 2026
Mr Loach had told the PA news agency that keeping Mr Driscoll off the longlist published on Friday because they shared a platform was the "lamest excuse I've ever heard".
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2023
Strayer: San Antonio’s definitely the lamest, but that’s why I like it.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2023
My Gucci-wearing pals will stage the world’s lamest riot.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 2, 2020
All these wannabes killing themselves, running around hanging the lamest posters and FB-ing everybody with Like me requests, and Castro wins without even being on the ballot, as a write-in.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
The author invents an alter ego , character who prods the legally lamed Ian Hamilton to get on with his project despite the court's restrictions on paraphrasing.
From Time Magazine Archive
If these were valid, even in part, "the realities of the industrial world" meant that many businesses would be lamed, some crippled.
From Time Magazine Archive
Scott was lamed by a child hood attack of polio and was ill for much of his life; Dumas was in overpowering good health and spirits all his days.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then Marco the Magnificent appears, and the gal he forever two-times; then Paul, the lamed, embittered puppeteer, and the pal he forever snaps at.
From Time Magazine Archive
Out on the verge he found Dandelion urging Haystack, who was lamed and spent.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
My wife suffered from laming traumatic dislocation for eight years.
From Time Magazine Archive
Of all the difficult hurdles a new French Premier must leap without laming himself, the first and foremost is Algeria.
From Time Magazine Archive
Since last spring the world's biggest public school system, New York City's, has wallowed along like a superliner with a laming leak.
From Time Magazine Archive
When the ropes break, then infernal spirits and immortal deities fall together, laming and sometimes killing each other.
From Great Singers, First Series Faustina Bordoni To Henrietta Sontag by George T. (George Titus) Ferris
In every other particular I had scrupulously observed it even to the severe laming of my unfortunate horse.
From A Frontier Mystery by Bertram Mitford
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
