limp
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to walk with a labored, jerky movement, as when lame.
-
to proceed in a lame, faltering, or labored manner.
His writing limps from one cliché to another. The old car limped along.
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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
adjective
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lacking stiffness or firmness, as of substance, fiber, structure, or bodily frame.
a limp body.
-
lacking vitality; weary; tired; fatigued.
Limp with exhaustion, she dropped into the nearest chair.
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without firmness, force, energy, etc., as of character.
limp, spiritless prose.
-
flexible; not stiff or rigid.
a Bible in a limp leather binding.
verb
-
to walk with an uneven step, esp with a weak or injured leg
-
to advance in a labouring or faltering manner
noun
adjective
-
not firm or stiff
-
not energetic or vital
-
(of the binding of a book) not stiffened with boards
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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limpsimple
-
limpssimple
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have limpedperfect
-
has limpedperfect
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are limpingprogressive
-
am limpingprogressive
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is limpingprogressive
-
have been limpingperfect progressive
-
has been limpingperfect progressive
Past
-
limpedsimple
-
had limpedperfect
-
was limpingprogressive
-
were limpingprogressive
-
had been limpingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of limp1
1560–70; back formation from obsolete limphault lame; Old English lemphealt limping ( see halt 2); akin to Middle High German limpfen to limp
Origin of limp2
1700–10; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Icelandic limpa slackness, limpilegur soft, flabby
Explanation
If you walk unevenly, you have a limp. Maybe you pulled your hamstring at the annual Thanksgiving Day Football Showdown, or maybe one leg is three inches shorter than the other. Whatever the reason, if your gait is off kilter, you limp. You can have a limp (the noun), or you can limp (the verb), and both mean that for some reason your legs don’t work quite in synch. Limp can also be an adjective that means "not strong or firm," like your friends' limp response to your invitation to come help paint your house or when your hair looks limp, meaning it's just hanging, with no volume or style.
Vocabulary lists containing limp
Because of Winn-Dixie
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Purple Hibiscus
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25 Ways of Walking
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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.
Headliners Limp Bizkit performed on Friday, with Guns N' Roses topping the bill on Saturday and Linkin Park set to close out the three days in the arena on Sunday.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
The launch complex’s water tower is “also good,” according to Limp, while its big support tower is damaged but repairable.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026
In the late ’90s, Peter Katsis was skeptical when his company, The Firm, which managed rock bands Korn and Limp Bizkit, worked briefly with the Backstreet Boys.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
David Limp, the CEO of Blue Origin, was appointed to Prometheus’ board of directors.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
Limp leaves of lettuce and blackened bananas for dinner.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
