handicap
Americannoun
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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.
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the disadvantage or advantage itself.
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any disadvantage that makes success more difficult.
The main handicap of our business is lack of capital.
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Sometimes Offensive. a physical or mental disability making participation in certain of the usual activities of daily living more difficult.
verb (used with object)
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to place at a disadvantage; disable or burden.
He was handicapped by his injured ankle.
- Synonyms:
- incapacitate, cripple, impede, hinder
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to subject to a disadvantageous handicap, as a competitor of recognized superiority.
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to assign handicaps to (competitors).
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Sports.
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to attempt to predict the winner of (a contest, especially a horse race), as by comparing past performances of the contestants.
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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.
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noun
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something that hampers or hinders
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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
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the advantage or disadvantage prescribed
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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
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any physical disability or disadvantage resulting from physical, mental, or social impairment or abnormality
verb
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to be a hindrance or disadvantage to
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to assign a handicap or handicaps to
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to organize (a contest) by handicapping
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to attempt to forecast the winner of (a contest, esp a horse race)
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to assign odds for or against (a contestant)
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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handicapsimple
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handicapssimple
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have handicappedperfect
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has handicappedperfect
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am handicappingprogressive
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are handicappingprogressive
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is handicappingprogressive
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have been handicappingperfect progressive
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has been handicappingperfect progressive
Past
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handicappedsimple
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had handicappedperfect
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was handicappingprogressive
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were handicappingprogressive
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had been handicappingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of handicap
1640–50; 1870–75 handicap for def. 8; originally hand i' cap hand in cap, referring to a drawing before a horse race
Explanation
A mental or physical disadvantage, such as blindness or a missing leg, is a handicap: something that disables you in some way. Handicaps can also be imposed artificially to even out the odds in sporting events. A sporting handicap might be a faster horse carrying an extra weight, or a better golfer having a few strokes added to her score to make things more competitive. Sometimes fate imposes a handicap, as when bad weather handicaps your travel plans, or a strike handicaps the subway system. Handicap comes from the term hand in cap, an ancient British practice in which two bettors placed their money into a hat held by a neutral third party before a bet.
Vocabulary lists containing handicap
"Harrison Bergeron"
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From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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"Gambling in Schools"
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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:
Shah admits that Uncle Sam could contribute to volatility, as markets try to handicap these potential worries.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
His golf handicap just went up in my book.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
John: On the same handicap mark as when an 11-length fourth to Panic Attack at Newbury.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
Grace and Eva are practically the only characters who matter in the movie, although a third one achieves equal importance despite the handicap of not having a face.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
Count Greffi made his one hundredth point and with the handicap I was only at ninety-four.
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
As far as handicaps go, if you are sweeping your putts, you’re only hurting yourself and no one else…keep it enjoyable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
It also created a ranking system, Spindex, with the hopes of making it a ratings scale similar to golf handicaps.
From Barron's ● Mar. 31, 2026
Awards columnist Glenn Whipp handicaps the best picture race as it stands right now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
Administrators admit the system is open to abuse and some players artificially manipulate handicaps to improve their chances of winning amateur competitions.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2025
Finally a speaker came forward and spoke of Chicago’s South Side, its Negro population, their sufferings, and handicaps, linking all that, also, to the world struggle.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Yet the House is down to a minuscule majority, and Senate Republicans are handicapped by the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham and the hospitalization of Sen. Mitch McConnell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
It has long been handicapped by a rule requiring full consensus among members, meaning decisions are few and far between.
From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026
It may transpire that Verstappen's car was handicapped when he set his fastest time.
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2025
Cognitive fluency and watery judicial eyes aside, Arriaga and I are still handicapped without a PC.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2024
A woman in the line grumbled, “He leaves a handicapped six-year-old alone and then wants special treatment to find her.”
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
That’s a sharp reversal from the past two years, when investors were handicapping how quickly the Fed would be cutting rates despite stubborn inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
The new Siri is proving to be difficult because Apple came into the AI race by handicapping itself.
From Barron's ● Dec. 5, 2025
Though, it should be said, at this point all that election handicapping is nothing more than speculation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2025
Aston Martin locked out the back row of the grid in Belgium just a week ago, the car's high drag handicapping it on the long, high-speed sections at Spa-Francorchamps.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2025
Weather prediction was about on a par with race-horse handicapping, and easy to explain after it happened.
From Eight Keys to Eden by Clifton, Mark
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.
