gimp
1 Americannoun
-
a flat trimming of silk, wool, or other cord, sometimes stiffened with wire, for garments, curtains, etc.
-
a coarse thread, usually glazed, employed in lacemaking to outline designs.
noun
noun
-
a limp.
-
Usually Disparaging and Offensive. a term used to refer to a person who limps or is lame.
verb (used without object)
adjective
noun
-
offensive a physically disabled person, esp one who is lame
-
slang a sexual fetishist who likes to be dominated and who dresses in a leather or rubber body suit with mask, zips, and chains
noun
Sensitive Note
When describing someone who is lame, gimp is used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting. But within the disability community, it is sometimes a term of self-reference.
Other Word Forms
- gimpy adjective
Etymology
Origin of gimp1
First recorded in 1655–65; probably from Dutch gimp; further origin unknown
Origin of gimp2
First recorded in 1900–05; origin uncertain
Origin of gimp3
An Americanism dating back to 1920–25; origin uncertain
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.
A man has been found guilty of causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress after scaring female motorists while dressed in a gimp suit.
From BBC • Oct. 27, 2023
Twin chairs sit opposite the couch, green gimp and nailhead trim adding a stately detail to the delicate pair.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 22, 2023
The overall impression is of a gimp kitten singing Florence + the Machine in purgatory.
From The Guardian • Sep. 29, 2012
The lyrics alone, some authored by a cloistered Poor Clare nun with whom Miss White had to confer through a veiled grille, made many a gimp limp in her audience and dimpled many a wimple.
From Time Magazine Archive
Between the rows, however, was a crowd of women and children, bare heads, bare arms, white aprons, and black Sunday frocks bristling with gimp.
From The White Peacock by Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert)
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.
