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
The U.S. launched a campaign called Operation Economic Outcast to cripple Iran’s economy by cutting off its remaining lifelines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 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
My feet never suffered—and that is a factor of major importance, in a winter-journey where an hour’s exposure can, after all, cripple one for a week or for life.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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
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
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
I will take your old men, your wounded, and your cripples, even those who can no longer fight.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Sekyiwa Shakur, the rapper’s sister, told the judge the killing had crippled her family, as he was the provider for two dozen relatives and was “my shining star, my shining prince.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The prosecutor, himself the target of sanctions, said they crippled daily life -- he was unable to book transport, hotels, or conduct banking operations.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
A publican has revealed his anguish at having to close down, saying he has been "crippled" by rising costs and a decline in customer drinking habits.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
“Their emails start out, ‘You’re my last hope of not being a crippled, miserable, dead person,’ ” he said.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Why should she feel crippled with so much fear that she had to force her feet to keep on walking, one after the other, one after the other?
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
This confluence of factors coupled with rising wait times and skyrocketing costs of compute are crippling a generation of newcomers trying to compete with Google, Anthropic and OpenAI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Their crippling codependence is alienating, as if there really were only one of them.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government placed the troubled plant under state administration in February 2024 to try to protect jobs in a region with crippling unemployment and has been seeking a buyer.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Boucher said she had had to take out personal loans to cover the costs, which had been "crippling".
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
I had a constant, crippling headache, and I couldn’t stand without holding on to something.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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