limp
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
limps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
limped,
past participle, past
-
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
-
has limpedperfect
-
am limpingprogressive
-
are limpingprogressive
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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:
The evidence also raises the possibility that the animal was walking with a limp.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
One piece of lettuce was limp; another was somehow entirely lettuce rib.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
A lot has happened since head coach Danny Rohl, who has been replaced by Derek McInnes, watched his team limp to the finish after their season unravelled in a post-split collapse.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Until, that is, the play’s rather retrograde climax, when the playwright’s provocateur wildness goes limp.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Klaus felt his body go limp as the hook-handed man left the room, and he wanted to sit there for a moment and catch his breath.
From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
As the housing market limps along, analysts have become less enthused about D.R.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
Now the industry limps along by focusing on artificial intelligence; private equity also has experienced setbacks and looks even wobblier to me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
Voters here are concerned with policies that affect their water supply and forests, given that the timber industry limps along here and fires have ravaged the area in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2025
And so English cricket limps to its final stop of the winter.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2025
He limps off faster than I would have thought possible.
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
Then he would tell him about the limper.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
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
What male with waxed moustachios, or with limpest beard, or chin new-reaped would put his ears in such a compress?
From Journeys to Bagdad by Charles S. (Charles Stephen) Brooks
Still the figure stared, as if it would fascinate him into limpest submission.
From Warlock o' Glenwarlock by George MacDonald
The morning after losing to Federer, an aching Willis limped to the shower at 4:30am to get ready for an interview on ITV's Good Morning Britain.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Stocks limped to the end of a five-day slump on Friday, a run in which even blowout earnings from chip maker Micron couldn’t build any traction in major indexes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
The first film, 2002’s “Jackass: The Movie” was slow to discover that carnage without camaraderie is painful; several injuries limped off-screen in horrified silence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
It meant West Indies limped on to 148-5.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
From the way she limped, it looked like her leg was injured.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Wales captain Dewi Lake was passed fit despite limping off against the Pumas, but wing Josh Adams was a late withdrawal because of a calf problem with Ellis Mee taking his place.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Then, in the second quarter, Spurs center Luke Kornet crashed into him shortly after his return, leaving Brunson limping badly on a twisted ankle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Clark was seen limping on the court before making two of three free throws.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Now, for a dose of reality: Companies that enjoy a huge pop end up limping along for years.
From Barron's ● Apr. 6, 2026
Behind him, limping and complaining, came the survivors of the ill-fated raiding party.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
