limp

1
[ limp ]
See synonyms for: limplimpedlimping on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
  1. to walk with a labored, jerky movement, as when lame.

  2. to proceed in a lame, faltering, or labored manner: His writing limps from one cliché to another. The old car limped along.

  1. 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
  1. a lame movement or gait: The accident left him with a slight limp.

Origin of limp

1
1560–70; back formation from obsolete limphault lame; Old English lemphealt limping (see halt2); akin to Middle High German limpfen to limp

Other words from limp

  • limper, noun
  • limp·ing·ly, adverb

Other definitions for limp (2 of 2)

limp2
[ limp ]

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.

  1. without firmness, force, energy, etc., as of character: limp, spiritless prose.

  2. flexible; not stiff or rigid: a Bible in a limp leather binding.

Origin of limp

2
1700–10; perhaps <Scandinavian; compare Icelandic limpa slackness, limpilegur soft, flabby

Other words for limp

Other words from limp

  • limply, adverb
  • limpness, noun

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

How to use limp in a sentence

  • An oath shrieked out and Bofinger, dropping his hold, sank back in the limpness of despair.

    Max Fargus | Owen Johnson
  • My arms were weak and of a strange, flabby limpness, but they moved.

    The Firefly Of France | Marion Polk Angellotti
  • European society might let her in, but European society had its limpness.

    Lady Barbarina | Henry James
  • There was an apple tree in view, too, with all its blossoms hanging in pink limpness.

    The Story of Bawn | Katharine Tynan

British Dictionary definitions for limp (1 of 2)

limp1

/ (lɪmp) /


verb(intr)
  1. to walk with an uneven step, esp with a weak or injured leg

  2. to advance in a labouring or faltering manner

noun
  1. an uneven walk or progress

Origin of limp

1
C16: probably a back formation from obsolete limphalt lame, from Old English lemphealt; related to Middle High German limpfen to limp

Derived forms of limp

  • limper, noun
  • limping, adjective, noun
  • limpingly, adverb

British Dictionary definitions for limp (2 of 2)

limp2

/ (lɪmp) /


adjective
  1. not firm or stiff

  2. not energetic or vital

  1. (of the binding of a book) not stiffened with boards

Origin of limp

2
C18: probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Icelandic limpa looseness

Derived forms of limp

  • limply, adverb
  • limpness, 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