hobble

[ hob-uhl ]

/ ˈhɒb əl /

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See synonyms for: hobble / hobbled / hobbling on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), hob·bled, hob·bling.

to walk lamely; limp.

to proceed irregularly and haltingly: His verses hobble with their faulty meters.

verb (used with object), hob·bled, hob·bling.

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.

noun

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR hobble

5 hinder, restrict, frustrate, cramp.

See synonyms for hobble on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR hobble

5 aid, assist, benefit.

See antonyms for hobble on Thesaurus.com

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True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

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Origin of hobble

1300–50; Middle English hobelen, apparently akin to hob protuberance, uneven ground, and to Dutch hobbelen,German hoppeln to jolt

OTHER WORDS FROM hobble

hobbler, nounun·hob·bled, adjectiveun·hob·bling, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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|DAILY BEAST
This 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|DAILY BEAST
By the end, he was just a scared and broken man with a suicide vest—hobbling on a crutch, looking for a way out.
How Bullying Creates Suicide Bombers|Adam Lankford|December 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

We'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|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 Thackeray
There 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 Boyesen
Hobbling to the stove, she examined the battered tin can, letting the moonlight shine into its rusty depths.
A Budget of Christmas Tales by Charles Dickens and Others|Various
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 Cable
When 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

hobble

/ (ˈhɒbəl) /

verb

(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)

noun

a strap, rope, etc, used to hobble a horse

a limping gait

British dialect a difficult or embarrassing situation

a castrated ferret

Also (for senses 2, 5): hopple

Derived forms of hobble

hobbler, noun

Word Origin for hobble

C14: probably from Low German; compare Flemish hoppelen, Middle Dutch hobbelen to stammer

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

hobble

OTHER WORDS FOR hobble

OPPOSITES FOR hobble

Origin of hobble

OTHER WORDS FROM hobble

Words related to hobble

How to use hobble in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hobble

Derived forms of hobble

Word Origin for hobble