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:
Brad Cooper prepared an option for 10 to 14 days of intensive airstrikes designed to cripple Iran’s missile capability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 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
Abrupt, unwelcome occurrences scar our autonomy and cripple our illusion of independence; the question of what went wrong falls on our shoulders, another loop to languish inside.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
He feared that the Retrenchment Committee would cripple the fair for once and for all.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
But taxi driver Wayne Parsons, who travels 200 miles a day, said even the cheaper prices remained too high and "it cripples you".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Field sizes are so small that it cripples wagering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2025
This legacy often cripples their ability to transition into adulthood as a functioning member of society.
From Slate ● Oct. 12, 2023
So even in the most extreme drought, when we look back 100 years, there's nothing that cripples hydro in a serious way.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2022
Stanton said that she was pleased that she didn’t know Phillips’s opinion before she made her remarks because “the desire to please those we admire and respect often cripples conscience.”
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
“We were promised Black jobs, Black dollars and an economic boost to Crenshaw, but businesses have been crippled one by one,” Shorter said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Disruptions can come out of the blue: a ransomware attack crippled one Treasury dealer in 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 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
It crippled education as thousands of teachers left their roles, and students like Ma Naw Phaw refused to enrol in junta-controlled schools.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
And he had come, eventually, to love the crippled girl called Kira, who had never known her father, and whose mother had died suddenly and left her alone.
From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr also demanded the end of crippling sanctions, the release of frozen assets and compensation for wartime damage.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Her crippling impostor syndrome was a feature, not a bug — we were stuck there with her for at least two seasons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
"It's crippling them - I think it will force them out," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Most international transactions denominated in U.S. dollars must be settled by American banks, giving Washington the ability to monitor them—and cut off users’ dollars if necessary, crippling their operations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
But as he stood there, panic still crippling his lungs, there was one problem.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
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.
