cripple
Americannoun
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cripples
plural
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Offensive. a term used to refer to a person who is partially or totally unable to use one or more limbs.
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an animal that is similarly disabled; a lame animal.
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Offensive. a person who is disabled or impaired in any way.
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anything that is impaired or flawed.
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a wounded animal, especially one shot by a hunter.
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Carpentry. any structural member shorter than usual, as a stud beneath a windowsill.
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Delaware Valley. a swampy, densely overgrown tract of land.
verb (used with object)
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cripples,
present (3rd person singular)
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crippled,
past participle, past
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crippling
present participle
adjective
noun
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offensive a person who is lame
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offensive a person who is or seems disabled or deficient in some way
a mental cripple
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dialect a dense thicket, usually in marshy land
verb
Sensitive Note
When referring to someone for whom it is difficult or impossible to walk or move without some kind of external aid like crutches or a wheelchair, sensitivity is called for. The noun cripple and the adjective crippled are no longer considered appropriate. Although these terms have been in use since before the year 950, since the mid-1900s they have become increasingly uncommon and are largely regarded as insulting. Since the late 20th century, the terms handicapped and the handicapped, once thought to be acceptable alternatives, have also become, at least in some contexts, offensive. ( Handicapped remains acceptable, however, in certain set phrases like handicapped parking. ) Attempts to replace crippled with the milder euphemistic term physically challenged were sidetracked by a virtual explosion of satirical imitations like economically challenged (poor), ethically challenged (immoral), and vertically challenged (short). Currently acceptable terms are disabled and people with disabilities. These terms are not only less likely to offend, they are more useful. While cripple and crippled traditionally denoted permanent impairments of one or more limbs, disabled is a broader, more comprehensive word that can refer to many different kinds of physical or mental impairments, whether temporary or permanent. cripple and crippled are not usually problematic when referring to an inanimate object or an animal. And cripple is unlikely to be deemed offensive as a verb, especially metaphorically, as in Failing to upgrade the computer system will cripple our business. Like many other usually offensive terms, the word cripple can also be acceptable when used by people with disabilities in self-reference, as an act of reclamation, or for political purposes. See also retarded ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cripplesimple
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cripplessimple
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have crippledperfect
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has crippledperfect
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am cripplingprogressive
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are cripplingprogressive
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is cripplingprogressive
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have been cripplingperfect progressive
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has been cripplingperfect progressive
Past
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crippledsimple
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had crippledperfect
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was cripplingprogressive
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were cripplingprogressive
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had been cripplingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cripple
First recorded before 950; Middle English cripel, Old English crypel; akin to creep
Explanation
To cripple is to leave someone unable to walk. Terrible car accidents, for example, can sometimes cripple their victims. Use the verb cripple to describe what is done to a person whose legs are so badly injured that they can't be used. You can also use the word in a figurative way, as when a parent's criticism and high expectations cripple a child's self esteem. In other words, they take away his strength and make him feel useless and unsuccessful. In the thirteenth century, cripple meant "to move slowly," from the Old English root crypel, "to bend."
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:
President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of trying to "cripple the economy and destroy people's lives" with intensifying strikes on civilian infrastructure, including the railways.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
A business fears proposals to charge Cardiff employers thousands of pounds for staff parking could "cripple" employers in the city.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
A steep drop in the first few years of retirement, while you’re pulling money out to live on, can permanently cripple a portfolio even after the market recovers.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
Glenn Whipp says, “ ‘DTF St. Louis’ is the standout limited series, a murder mystery in form that’s really about suburban loneliness, particularly the isolation that can cripple middle-aged men.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
Bran was back at Winterfell, a cripple, yet safe.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
She added that VAT on businesses like hers "cripples creativity".
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
But it also cripples his sanity since the fire creates more vengeful spirits that only he can see.
From Salon ● Dec. 8, 2025
No sooner has this block of exposition concluded than a cyberattack cripples every system in the U.S.A., including all the ones that had been thought invulnerable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2025
This legacy often cripples their ability to transition into adulthood as a functioning member of society.
From Slate ● Oct. 12, 2023
Mance Rayder’s host had broken against the Wall like a wave upon a stony shore, though the defenders were no more than a handful of old men, green boys, and cripples.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
“Their emails start out, ‘You’re my last hope of not being a crippled, miserable, dead person,’ ” he said.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the country needs to focus on ending the war and shoring up its crippled economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Mainland investors have been seeking to diversify their holdings in recent years as a debt crisis has crippled the Chinese property sector, long viewed as a safe bet to park assets, analysts told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
In downtown L.A., vandalism, shuttered storefronts and post-COVID abandonment have crippled what was a vibrant, revenue-generating economy that benefited the whole city.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026
“You know, there’s a reason behind everything. Maybe I felt sorry for that little mare. I feel sorry for anything that’s crippled, don’t you?”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Their crippling codependence is alienating, as if there really were only one of them.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
Boucher said she had had to take out personal loans to cover the costs, which had been "crippling".
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Newsom is also considering a closely watched package that would shield utilities from potentially crippling wildfire liability.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
The chief executives of heavy industries have denounced the policies, citing crippling energy and carbon costs as some of the reasons they have shut down factories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Normally, playing without a queen is crippling, almost tantamount to an automatic loss.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
