limber

1
[ lim-ber ]
See synonyms for limber on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. characterized by ease in bending the body; supple; lithe.

  2. bending readily; flexible; pliant.

verb (used without object)
  1. to make oneself limber (usually followed by up): to limber up before the game.

verb (used with object)
  1. to make (something) limber (usually followed by up): She tried to limber up her wits before the exam.

Origin of limber

1
First recorded in 1555–65; of uncertain origin; perhaps akin to limb1

synonym study For limber

2. See flexible.

Other words for limber

Opposites for limber

Other words from limber

  • lim·ber·ly, adverb
  • lim·ber·ness, noun

Other definitions for limber (2 of 3)

limber2
[ lim-ber ]

noun
  1. a two-wheeled vehicle, originally pulled by four or six horses, behind which is towed a field gun or caisson.

verb (used with object)
  1. to attach the limber to (a gun) in preparation for moving away (sometimes followed by up).

verb (used without object)
  1. to attach a limber to a gun (usually followed by up).

Origin of limber

2
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English limour, lemer “cart shaft”; see limb1, -er1

Other definitions for limber (3 of 3)

limber3
[ lim-ber ]

noun
  1. Usually limbers. Nautical. a passage or gutter in which seepage collects to be pumped away, located on each side of a central keelson; bilge.

Origin of limber

3
First recorded in 1620–30; of uncertain origin; perhaps from French lumière “hole, perforation,” literally, “light,” from Late Latin lūmināria; see origin at luminaria

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

How to use limber in a sentence

  • He has the most surprising limberness of wrist, and he never hits the bandage by mistake—never!

    Greifenstein | F. Marion Crawford
  • Students of the human frame say that they never saw such a wealth of looseness and limberness lavished upon one person.

    Remarks | Bill Nye
  • But age had not impaired the brightness of her eyes, nor the limberness of her tongue, nor her shrewd good sense.

    On Horseback | Charles Dudley Warner
  • Grandma Padgett took it in her hands, reduced its length and tried its limberness.

    Old Caravan Days | Mary Hartwell Catherwood
  • And the limberness has gone out of my fingers as out of my mind.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton

British Dictionary definitions for limber (1 of 3)

limber1

/ (ˈlɪmbə) /


adjective
  1. capable of being easily bent or flexed; pliant

  2. able to move or bend freely; agile

Origin of limber

1
C16: origin uncertain

Derived forms of limber

  • limberly, adverb
  • limberness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for limber (2 of 3)

limber2

/ (ˈlɪmbə) /


noun
  1. part of a gun carriage, often containing ammunition, consisting of an axle, pole, and two wheels, that is attached to the rear of an item of equipment, esp field artillery

verb
  1. (usually foll by up) to attach the limber (to a gun, etc)

Origin of limber

2
C15 lymour shaft of a gun carriage, origin uncertain

British Dictionary definitions for limber (3 of 3)

limber3

/ (ˈlɪmbə) /


noun
  1. (often plural) nautical (in the bilge of a vessel) a fore-and-aft channel through a series of holes in the frames (limber holes) where water collects and can be pumped out

Origin of limber

3
C17: probably changed from French lumière hole (literally: light)

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