handicap

[ han-dee-kap ]

/ ˈhæn diˌkæp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR handicap ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

the disadvantage or advantage itself.

any disadvantage that makes success more difficult: The main handicap of our business is lack of capital.

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

verb (used with object), hand·i·capped, hand·i·cap·ping.

to place at a disadvantage; disable or burden: He was handicapped by his injured ankle.

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

to assign handicaps to (competitors).

Sports.

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

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of handicap

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

SYNONYMS FOR handicap

5 hinder, impede, cripple, incapacitate.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR handicap ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR handicap

5 aid, assist, help.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR handicap ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsnon·hand·i·cap, nouno·ver·hand·i·cap, verb (used with object), o·ver·hand·i·capped, o·ver·hand·i·cap·ping.pre·hand·i·cap, noun, verb (used with object), pre·hand·i·capped, pre·hand·i·cap·ping.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for handicap

Unprepared, and a laughingstock because of his handicap, Yarvi is bullied on every front—even by his mother.
A Fantasy Titan Invades the YA Kingdom|William O’Connor|July 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If the rest of us have had trouble catching up to Robespierre and crew, well, we are starting from a bit of a handicap.
Why Deny the Obvious: Hollywood’s Backward Stance on Abortion|Teo Bugbee|June 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The handicap, after some needling back and forth, was fixed at eight strokes.
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man|John Lardner|May 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Otherwise, according to Mom, intelligence could handicap a woman.
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’|Eileen Cronin|April 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The last name is obviously a handicap, though perhaps not as much now as last cycle.
The Governors Who Could Beat Christie|Michelle Cottle|November 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Thus the very decency of the native is a handicap to success and to fecundity.
The Old World in the New|Edward Alsworth Ross
In a measure this was true, and Randall was under somewhat of a handicap in this respect.
The Eight-Oared Victors|Lester Chadwick
To what extent is the success of stained glass windows due to a lessening of this handicap?
Visual Illusions|Matthew Luckiesh
An unwillingness to toe the scratch under the handicap of having his neighbors know it is his second trial.
A Virginia Scout|Hugh Pendexter
Muskwa followed him now, and he had some trouble in properly navigating himself under the handicap of his added weight.
The Grizzly King|James Oliver Curwood

British Dictionary definitions for handicap

handicap

/ (ˈhændɪˌkæp) /

noun

something that hampers or hinders

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
the advantage or disadvantage prescribed

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

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

verb -caps, -capping or -capped (tr)

to be a hindrance or disadvantage to

to assign a handicap or handicaps to

to organize (a contest) by handicapping

US and Canadian

to attempt to forecast the winner of (a contest, esp a horse race)
to assign odds for or against (a contestant)

Word Origin for handicap

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for handicap (1 of 2)

handicap

1650s, from hand in cap, a game whereby two bettors would engage a neutral umpire to determine the odds in an unequal contest. The bettors would put their hands holding forfeit money into a hat or cap. The umpire would announce the odds and the bettors would withdraw their hands -- hands full meaning that they accepted the odds and the bet was on, hands empty meaning they did not accept the bet and were willing to forfeit the money. If one forfeited, then the money went to the other. If both agreed either on forfeiting or going ahead with the wager, then the umpire kept the money as payment. The custom, though not the name, is attested from 14c. ("Piers Plowman").

Reference to horse racing is 1754 (Handy-Cap Match), where the umpire decrees the superior horse should carry extra weight as a "handicap;" this led to sense of "encumbrance, disability" first recorded 1890. The main modern sense, "disability," is the last to develop, early 20c.

Word Origin and History for handicap (1 of 2)

handicap

"equalize chances of competitors," 1852, but implied in the horse-race sense from mid-18c., from handicap (n.). Meaning "put at a disadvantage" is from 1864. Earliest verbal sense, now obsolete, was "to gain as in a wagering game" (1640s). Related: Handicapped; handicapping.

Medicine definitions for handicap

handicap

[ hăn′dē-kăp′ ]

n.

A physical, mental, or emotional condition that interferes with one's normal functioning.