hobble

[ hob-uhl ]

/ ˈhɒb əl /

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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.

Nearby words

Origin of hobble

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

SYNONYMS FOR hobble

5. hinder, restrict, frustrate, cramp.

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ANTONYMS FOR hobble

5. aid, assist, benefit.

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Related formshob·bler, nounun·hob·bled, adjectiveun·hob·bling, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for hobbling

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
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
Sure enough, the tree-frog had taken alarm, and was hobbling away out of reach.
The Cricket's Friends|Virginia W. Johnson

Alvino was hobbling about among the horses with his lantern.
The Rustler of Wind River|G. W. Ogden
"I wish I could," he smiled, hobbling in and confronting her quietly in her own room.
Initials Only|Anna Katharine Green
The two Indians who were free were hobbling towards the woodland on the other side, appalled by their own temerity.
With Drake on the Spanish Main|Herbert Strang
Nor did Winthrope, stumbling and hobbling behind her, fare any better.
Into the Primitive|Robert Ames Bennet

British Dictionary definitions for hobbling

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 Formshobbler, 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

Word Origin and History for hobbling

hobble

c.1300, hoblen "to rock back and forth, toss up and down," probably related to its Dutch cognate hobbelen (which, however, is not recorded before late 15c.).

Meaning "to walk lamely" is from c.1400. Transitive sense of "tie the legs (of an animal)" first recorded 1831, probably an alteration of 16c. hopple, cognate with Flemish hoppelen "to rock, jump," which also is related to Dutch hobbelen. Sense of "hamper, hinder" is c.1870. Related: Hobbled; hobbling. The noun is 1727, from the verb.

hobble

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

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

noun

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Origin of hobble

Examples from the Web for hobbling

hobble

verb

noun

Word Origin for hobble

hobble