handicap

[han-dee-kap]

noun

1. a race or other contest in which certain disadvantages or advantages of weight, distance, time, etc., are placed upon competitors to equalize their chances of winning.

2. the disadvantage or advantage itself.

3. any disadvantage that makes success more difficult.

   The main handicap of our business is lack of capital.

4. Sometimes Offensive.,  a physical or mental disability making participation in certain of the usual activities of daily living more difficult.

verb (used with object)

handicapped, handicapping 

1. to place at a disadvantage; disable or burden.

   He was handicapped by his injured ankle.

   Synonyms: incapacitate, cripple, impede, hinder
   Antonyms: help, assist, aid

2. to subject to a disadvantageous handicap, as a competitor of recognized superiority.

3. to assign handicaps to (competitors).

4. Sports.

   1. to attempt to predict the winner of (a contest, especially a horse race), as by comparing past performances of the contestants.

   2. to assign odds for or against (any particular contestant) to win a contest or series of contests.

      He handicapped the Yankees at 2-to-1 to take the series from the Cardinals.

handicap

/ ˈhændɪˌkæp /

noun

1. something that hampers or hinders

2. 1. a contest, esp a race, in which competitors are given advantages or disadvantages of weight, distance, time, etc, in an attempt to equalize their chances of winning

   2. the advantage or disadvantage prescribed

3. golf the number of strokes by which a player's averaged score exceeds the standard scratch score for the particular course: used as the basis for handicapping in competitive play

4. any physical disability or disadvantage resulting from physical, mental, or social impairment or abnormality

verb

1. to be a hindrance or disadvantage to

2. to assign a handicap or handicaps to

3. to organize (a contest) by handicapping

4. 1. to attempt to forecast the winner of (a contest, esp a horse race)

   2. to assign odds for or against (a contestant)

Other Word Forms

• nonhandicap noun
• overhandicap verb (used with object)
• prehandicap noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of handicap¹

1640–50; 1870–75 handicap for def. 8; originally hand i' cap hand in cap, referring to a drawing before a horse race

Word History and Origins

Origin of handicap¹

C17: probably from hand in cap, a lottery game in which players drew forfeits from a cap or deposited money in it

Example Sentences

While she is an up-and-comer with a handicap that lists her as scratch golfer, placing her in the top 1% of women in the U.S., the American Junior Golf Association lists her 461st among girls.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Several surveys have signaled that Kennedy could handicap Republicans if his vaccine policy, not his healthy-eating initiative, becomes a dominant issue next year.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

And that’s assuming they survive their challenge in the Supreme Court, which is impossible to handicap.

Read more on MarketWatch

“The real handicap is that Europe will not have the fiscal space to respond to future shocks,” he said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Hoy’s wife, Kathleen, said her late husband had medical issues, used handicapped parking and though he would sometimes “yell at traffic” she had never known him to draw his weapon.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• disadvantage 
• drawback 
• hindrance 
• impairment 
• impediment 
• liability 
• obstacle 
• shortcoming