crippled
Americanadjective
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Offensive.
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relating to a person who is partially or totally unable to use one or more limbs.
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relating to a person who is disabled or impaired in any way.
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not operating or performing at the customary level; impaired; weakened.
Significant progress has been made in repairing the crippled power plant.
A telecommunications firm has signed a deal to get their crippled company back in business.
Sensitive Note
Why is crippled offensive? See cripple ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of crippled
First recorded in 1300–50; cripple ( def. ) (verb) + -ed 2 ( def. )
Explanation
When something is crippled, it's not working properly. Your bike might be crippled by the broken front brake that won't let the wheel turn freely. You can used the adjective crippled to talk about a broken machine or a process that's not working the way it should. It was once commonly used to describe a physically disabled person, but this has become an offensive term and should be avoided. The word crippled comes from the Old English crypel, which is related to cryppan, "to crook or to bend."
Vocabulary lists containing crippled
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.
“We were promised Black jobs, Black dollars and an economic boost to Crenshaw, but businesses have been crippled one by one,” Shorter said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
There are few signs the conflict is nearing an end, as the U.S. and Iran continue strikes and traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains crippled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Disruptions can come out of the blue: a ransomware attack crippled one Treasury dealer in 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The Scots, crippled by a deadly combo of profligacy and self destruction, needed snookers.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
But Uncle Willie was suffering under our father’s bombastic pressure, and in mother-bird fashion Momma was more concerned with her crippled offspring than the one who could fly away from the nest.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
