hobble
to walk lamely; limp.
to proceed irregularly and haltingly: His verses hobble with their faulty meters.
to cause to limp: His tight shoes hobbled him.
to fasten together the legs of (a horse, mule, etc.) by short lengths of rope to prevent free motion.
to impede; hamper the progress of.
an act of hobbling; an uneven, halting gait; a limp.
a rope, strap, etc., used to hobble an animal.
hobbles, a leg harness for controlling the gait of a pacer.
Archaic. an awkward or difficult situation.
Origin of hobble
1Other words for hobble
Opposites for hobble
Other words from hobble
- hobbler, noun
- un·hob·bled, adjective
- un·hob·bling, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use hobble in a sentence
There were little blond girls in knit hats next to elderly African American women hobbling on canes.
Sharpton Recalls Civil Rights Struggle in DC March Against Police Violence | Ben Jacobs | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis time, Strike is hobbling all over London searching for Owen Quine, an author gone with no warning and no word for 10 days.
Speed Read: J.K. Rowling Pens Another Winner With ‘The Silkworm’ | Malcolm Jones | June 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBy the end, he was just a scared and broken man with a suicide vest—hobbling on a crutch, looking for a way out.
The hobbling skirts and the exaggerated peplums and darts looked like the wild dreams of a woman … as envisioned by a man.
Designing for the One Percent at New York Fashion Week | Robin Givhan | February 14, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTWe'll keep weeding out the troublesome ones, keep fattening and hobbling the submissive ones.
The Extinction Parade: An Original Zombie Story by Max Brooks | Max Brooks | January 14, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
I say, very nearly knocking down the old sweeper who was hobbling away as fast as posibil.
Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush | William Makepeace ThackerayThere was not a soul to be seen, except an old beggar woman who was hobbling along, supporting herself with two sticks.
Boyhood in Norway | Hjalmar Hjorth BoyesenHobbling to the stove, she examined the battered tin can, letting the moonlight shine into its rusty depths.
A man hobbling on a stick came in from the doctors room, and, seeing Kentucky, picked his way over the outstretched forms to him.
Grapes of wrath | Boyd CableWhen he returned, hobbling up with his tiny bundle, the backwoods world was rioting in the scarlet and gold of young October.
The Backwoodsmen | Charles G. D. Roberts
British Dictionary definitions for hobble
/ (ˈhɒbəl) /
(intr) to walk with a lame awkward movement
(tr) to fetter the legs of (a horse) in order to restrict movement
to progress unevenly or with difficulty
(tr) to hamper or restrict (the actions or scope of a person, organization, etc)
a strap, rope, etc, used to hobble a horse
a limping gait
British dialect a difficult or embarrassing situation
a castrated ferret
Origin of hobble
1- Also (for senses 2, 5): hopple
Derived forms of hobble
- hobbler, noun
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
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