handicap
Americannoun
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a race or other contest in which certain disadvantages or advantages of weight, distance, time, etc., are placed upon competitors to equalize their chances of winning.
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the disadvantage or advantage itself.
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any disadvantage that makes success more difficult.
The main handicap of our business is lack of capital.
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Sometimes Offensive. a physical or mental disability making participation in certain of the usual activities of daily living more difficult.
verb (used with object)
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to place at a disadvantage; disable or burden.
He was handicapped by his injured ankle.
- Synonyms:
- incapacitate, cripple, impede, hinder
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to subject to a disadvantageous handicap, as a competitor of recognized superiority.
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to assign handicaps to (competitors).
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Sports.
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to attempt to predict the winner of (a contest, especially a horse race), as by comparing past performances of the contestants.
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to assign odds for or against (any particular contestant) to win a contest or series of contests.
He handicapped the Yankees at 2-to-1 to take the series from the Cardinals.
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noun
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something that hampers or hinders
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a contest, esp a race, in which competitors are given advantages or disadvantages of weight, distance, time, etc, in an attempt to equalize their chances of winning
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the advantage or disadvantage prescribed
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golf the number of strokes by which a player's averaged score exceeds the standard scratch score for the particular course: used as the basis for handicapping in competitive play
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any physical disability or disadvantage resulting from physical, mental, or social impairment or abnormality
verb
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to be a hindrance or disadvantage to
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to assign a handicap or handicaps to
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to organize (a contest) by handicapping
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to attempt to forecast the winner of (a contest, esp a horse race)
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to assign odds for or against (a contestant)
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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handicapsimple
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handicapssimple
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have handicappedperfect
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has handicappedperfect
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am handicappingprogressive
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are handicappingprogressive
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is handicappingprogressive
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have been handicappingperfect progressive
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has been handicappingperfect progressive
Past
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handicappedsimple
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had handicappedperfect
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was handicappingprogressive
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were handicappingprogressive
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had been handicappingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of handicap
1640–50; 1870–75 handicap for def. 8; originally hand i' cap hand in cap, referring to a drawing before a horse race
Explanation
A mental or physical disadvantage, such as blindness or a missing leg, is a handicap: something that disables you in some way. Handicaps can also be imposed artificially to even out the odds in sporting events. A sporting handicap might be a faster horse carrying an extra weight, or a better golfer having a few strokes added to her score to make things more competitive. Sometimes fate imposes a handicap, as when bad weather handicaps your travel plans, or a strike handicaps the subway system. Handicap comes from the term hand in cap, an ancient British practice in which two bettors placed their money into a hat held by a neutral third party before a bet.
Vocabulary lists containing handicap
"Harrison Bergeron"
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From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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"Gambling in Schools"
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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:
Shah admits that Uncle Sam could contribute to volatility, as markets try to handicap these potential worries.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
Obviousness is this film’s handicap — and the main joke.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
His golf handicap just went up in my book.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
The government's decision to expand the scheme to include a further 3,000 companies was welcomed by business groups who have long identified high energy costs as a major handicap for UK business.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
I tell you, Mother, it’s just too much of a handicap to endure.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
John: Narrowly beaten in hot Cheltenham handicaps on each of his past three starts this season, including when pipped in the Ultima Handicap Chase by Johnnywho.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
As far as handicaps go, if you are sweeping your putts, you’re only hurting yourself and no one else…keep it enjoyable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
It also created a ranking system, Spindex, with the hopes of making it a ratings scale similar to golf handicaps.
From Barron's ● Mar. 31, 2026
We all have some handicaps we are cursed to accept as we struggle with life.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 27, 2023
After that they created handicaps, like racing with no arms or hopping across the width of the shallow end on one foot.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Yet the House is down to a minuscule majority, and Senate Republicans are handicapped by the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham and the hospitalization of Sen. Mitch McConnell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Jagwar looks a very fairly handicapped horse, but opinion seems completely split on him.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
Byron Callan, a defense analyst at Washington, D.C.–based Capital Alpha Partners, which advises investors on government policy matters, has handicapped five possible outcomes in Iran.
From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026
Cognitive fluency and watery judicial eyes aside, Arriaga and I are still handicapped without a PC.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2024
I go to Goodwill, which I am curious about since I know from past research it has been positioning itself nationwide as the ideal employer for the postwelfare poor as well as the handicapped.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Three smart financial thinkers recently did some handicapping for us.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
The new Siri is proving to be difficult because Apple came into the AI race by handicapping itself.
From Barron's ● Dec. 5, 2025
Aston Martin locked out the back row of the grid in Belgium just a week ago, the car's high drag handicapping it on the long, high-speed sections at Spa-Francorchamps.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2025
But Snead and McVay knew better, instead handicapping a rookie defensive coordinator from the jump because they had a better-than-expected 2023 season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2024
She is already laying the foundations for a successful, useful, normal existence, establishing confidence at the outset and not handicapping herself through her whole course by making people lose their faith in her.
From A Girl's Student Days and After by Woolley, Mary Emma
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.
