limp
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to walk with a labored, jerky movement, as when lame.
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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.
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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.
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flexible; not stiff or rigid.
a Bible in a limp leather binding.
verb
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to walk with an uneven step, esp with a weak or injured leg
-
to advance in a labouring or faltering manner
noun
adjective
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not firm or stiff
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not energetic or vital
-
(of the binding of a book) not stiffened with boards
Other Word Forms
- limper noun
- limping adjective
- limpingly adverb
- limply adverb
- limpness noun
Etymology
Origin of limp1
1560–70; back formation from obsolete limphault lame; Old English lemphealt limping ( halt 2 ); akin to Middle High German limpfen to limp
Origin of limp2
1700–10; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Icelandic limpa slackness, limpilegur soft, flabby
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.
Some limped on one foot, while others tried to get used to a new plastic leg.
From Barron's
Lyon limped off soon after the restart after pulling a hamstring in sliding to save a boundary.
From Barron's
I can understand why he is so angry, because Spurs were so limp and offered so little in that game.
From BBC
“He’s limping around with the cast on his leg.”
From Los Angeles Times
Newcastle put in a limp performance after Howe sent out his team to be compact rather than bold at the Stadium of Light.
From BBC
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.
