limp
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
limps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
limped,
past participle, past
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limping
present participle
-
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.
-
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
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limps
plural
adjective
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limper,
comparative
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limpest
superlative
-
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.
-
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
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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limpsimple
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limpssimple
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have limpedperfect
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has limpedperfect
-
am limpingprogressive
-
are limpingprogressive
-
is limpingprogressive
-
have been limpingperfect progressive
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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.
See Examples For:
It was limp and lifeless for far too long.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
He previously suffered a leg injury that left him with a limp and has apparently adapted his lifestyle, preferring to spend his time lazing on a rock, rather than fighting with fellow bears.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The reporter who was with him never flew again, and Captain Max ended up with a gallant-looking limp.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
I preferred the big cities—Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León—where I could limp into the town square and reward myself with museums, cathedrals, mushroom pinxtos or paella that could feed 35 people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
It just hung there all limp and lifeless, and looked like a dead grapevine.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Still, their emotionally ruinous tug-of-war goes on for so many rounds that the movie limps toward the end credits exhausted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
I ask it to attack my drafts, defend the opposing view, and flag every transition that limps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
As the housing market limps along, analysts have become less enthused about D.R.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
At Good Samaritan, Maia limps into the ER, cons her way into priority triage, gets stitched up, and limps back out against the doctor’s orders.
From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2025
She limps from the big top and I rush out behind her.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
They could be even limper against Leicester, and they will still win to move even closer to the title.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2025
Much of the rest in “Languages of Truth” is limper and less interesting.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2021
And Bieber delivers his most bravura vocal on the acoustic guitar–driven “E.T.A.,” which ideally would have ended the album rather than the several limper retreads that follow it.
From Slate ● Feb. 18, 2020
Later, fellow Canadians Feist and Timber Timbre make the ballad-est of ballads even limper, coasting “Don’t Give Up” at an easy folk pace, pleasant but unconvincing.
From Time ● Jan. 6, 2014
So out came the tarlatan, looking older, limper, and shabbier than ever beside Sallie’s crisp new one.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
I’m reaching a point where I think the jump scare is the lamest, limpest form of horror.
From The Verge ● Sep. 21, 2017
Russia, tipped as possible winners just a few days earlier, crashed out with drama – but for Poland it was the limpest possible exit: the co-hosts offering next to nothing against the Czechs.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 16, 2012
The most enraptured fans are children : the limpest puppet show or the most ancient Western will bring in neighborhoods of bug-eyed, awestruck kids.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Widow was looking straight at the celestial, who sat there piled up in a little bit of a heap, the limpest thing in all the Forks perhaps, save Limber Tim.
From First Fam'lies of the Sierras by Joaquin Miller
George Eliot says in Middlemarch that "a kind Providence furnishes the limpest personality with a little gum or starch in the form of tradition."
From George Eliot; a Critical Study of Her Life, Writings & Philosophy by George Willis Cooke
Iamaleava left the game with 4:49 left in the fourth quarter after a 10-yard rush left him unable to stand for a few minutes as he limped off with an apparent left leg injury.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Wall Street just limped through its roughest stretch in months, and every investor is asking the same nervous question: Is the worst over in the stock market, or is the selloff just getting started?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
“As he limped down the companionway,” the New York Sun reported, “the impression was strong that the Colonel had endured the greatest hardships of his life.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Lewis Hamilton described the Austrian Grand Prix as "a reality check" for Ferrari, after he and Charles Leclerc limped to fifth and eighth places the race after the seven-time champion's impressive victory in Barcelona.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Jack asked Phillip, who’d limped over to stand next to the princess.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
He was the pivot for the 1969-70 sharp-passing NBA champs, and I can still see him limping out for the famous Game 7.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
The Tom Cruise-led movie “Digger” cratered at the box office this weekend, limping to a fifth-place finish with $8 million in the U.S. and Canada in its theatrical debut.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
The boys' father said: "We were in the hotel room when the eldest burst into the room. He was limping and there was blood everywhere after he cut all his feet leaving the spa."
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
From his gray hair to limping stride, Jackson’s Robin is so battered by decades of violence and outdoor camping that, at first glance, I thought his bare feet were a pair of alligator boots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
“I noticed you were limping more than usual today. Is your leg bothering you?”
From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate
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