lame
adjective
physically disabled, especially in the foot or leg so as to limp or walk with difficulty.
lame
1 American
[laym]
/ leɪm /
adjective
-
lamer,
comparative
-
lamest
superlative
-
physically disabled, especially in the foot or leg so as to limp or walk with difficulty.
a lame racehorse.
-
impaired or disabled through defect or injury.
a lame arm.
-
weak; inadequate; unsatisfactory; clumsy.
a lame excuse.
-
Slang: Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. awkward, dull, stupid, or uninteresting.
-
Slang: Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. out of touch with modern fads or trends; unsophisticated.
verb (used with object)
-
lames,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lamed,
past participle, past
-
laming
present participle
noun
lame
2
American
[laym, la m]
/ leɪm, lam /
noun
Armor.
-
lames
plural
lamé
3
American
[lah-may, la-, la -may]
/ lɑˈmeɪ, læ-, laˈmeɪ /
noun
-
lamés
plural
lame
1
British
/ leɪm /
adjective
-
disabled or crippled in the legs or feet
-
painful or weak
a lame back
-
weak; unconvincing
a lame excuse
-
not effective or enthusiastic
a lame try
-
slang conventional or uninspiring
verb
lamé
2
British
/ ˈlɑːmeɪ /
noun
lame
3
British
/ leɪm /
noun
Sensitive Note
Many speakers do not recognize or consider the connection between the medical and slang senses of lame . Nevertheless, using a term associated with injury or disability as a general insult is sometimes perceived as insensitive to or by people with disabilities.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lamesimple
-
lamessimple
-
have lamedperfect
-
has lamedperfect
-
am lamingprogressive
-
are lamingprogressive
-
is lamingprogressive
-
have been lamingperfect progressive
-
has been lamingperfect progressive
Past
-
lamedsimple
-
had lamedperfect
-
was lamingprogressive
-
were lamingprogressive
-
had been lamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lame1
First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective and verb); Old English lama (adjective); cognate with Dutch lam, German lahm, Old Norse lami; akin to Lithuanian lúomas
Origin of lame2
1580–90; < Middle French < Latin lāmina a thin piece or plate
Origin of lamé3
1920–25; < French, equivalent to lame lame 2 + -é < Latin -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
You might describe a limping dog that's lost the use of one of its legs as lame, which means "disabled in a leg or foot." It's less common than describing injured animals as lame, but sometimes you'll hear the word lame used to describe a limping person too. This usage is generally considered to be outdated or inappropriate. Lame is probably most often used to mean generally weak or pathetic — but many people consider this usage to be offensive as well.
Vocabulary lists containing lame
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Least Presidential Vocabulary Used by Presidential Candidates during the GOP Debate (Sept. 16, 2015)
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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:
Donald Trump could become a lame duck president after US midterm elections but prospects at the ballot box are looking brighter for ducks of the feathered variety.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
But within a week of owning him, Sweet noticed Otto - a warmblood breed that was about 17 hands tall - had gone lame and was struggling to walk.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Letterboxd Journal would be replaced by the advertorial “journalism” of Netflix Tudum, or lame writing about the library of films currently available on whichever streamer or studio makes the shiniest offer.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
He’s also a lame duck and getting lamer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
Or a lame Twitter account where she retweets memes about the importance of hand washing.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
The crystals and lamé of their outfits played with the light from the disco ball hanging from the ceiling.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
When the college awarded him its gold medal, Hockney accepted the honor wearing a gold lamé jacket.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
He stayed in the same gold lamé suit all evening, giving off the air of a man who's at his happiest when he's sitting behind a piano, letting rip.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2023
The book describes the delivery of gold lamé dresses to a tiny atoll near New Guinea for a show organized by an Army Air Corpsman, Ben Small.
From New York Times ● Jun. 1, 2023
Mami is wearing her gold lamé sandals for New Year’s and she goes rushing to the kitchen, returning with the flan, which has turned as bright and golden as her pretty sandals.
From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar
As for his newly created clothes, there was an “homage to the lodge” in plaid lames and cashmeres, melting into sunset-drenched oranges and pinks inspired by his Colorado vacation.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2021
But then Blane lames out on taking her, and this is where Andie really comes into her own.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 21, 2014
At the advice of lames Martin, who quit his job as a Dallas motel manager to become her business agent, Marina has set up a $25,000 trust fund for the children.
From Time Magazine Archive
Dramatically grave-robbed from Beckett, this is a good isometric exercise for the neck, but lames the brain.
From Time Magazine Archive
To help alleviate the costs for beginners or for kids whose parents weren’t willing or able to purchase fencing equipment, our high school had equipment for rent, like jackets, knickers, and lames.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
He’s also a lame duck and getting lamer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
He’s lame as hell, he’s lamer than George Lopez in my book.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2023
It was such a snooze, he almost forgot to celebrate after holing his final putt and gave a lamer fist pump than Lucas Glover at the 2009 U.S.
From Golf Digest ● Feb. 26, 2019
And this season’s stunt is even lamer because it was so clearly a sham, as Kaitlyn was always going to win.
From Slate ● May 29, 2015
“You had to? That’s even lamer than denying it.”
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
The family’s insecurity over this surged into view last week, when the alleged “ladies man” was photographed doing the lamest possible thing on New Year’s Eve: hanging out with his parents at Mar-a-Lago.
From Salon ● Jan. 12, 2026
Mr Loach had told the PA news agency that keeping Mr Driscoll off the longlist published on Friday because they shared a platform was the "lamest excuse I've ever heard".
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2023
“He was like, ‘Let’s meet up, I can help you with your blog,’ and I was like, ‘OK, that’s like the lamest excuse.’
From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2021
My Gucci-wearing pals will stage the world’s lamest riot.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 2, 2020
“In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you’ve only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you’re the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!”
From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan
Jim, the elder son, lamed by a riding accident, stayed home; but Ned went, was captured, finally released from a Yankee prison a broken man.
From Time Magazine Archive
If these were valid, even in part, "the realities of the industrial world" meant that many businesses would be lamed, some crippled.
From Time Magazine Archive
Scott was lamed by a child hood attack of polio and was ill for much of his life; Dumas was in overpowering good health and spirits all his days.
From Time Magazine Archive
The author invents an alter ego , character who prods the legally lamed Ian Hamilton to get on with his project despite the court's restrictions on paraphrasing.
From Time Magazine Archive
Out on the verge he found Dandelion urging Haystack, who was lamed and spent.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
Since last spring the world's biggest public school system, New York City's, has wallowed along like a superliner with a laming leak.
From Time Magazine Archive
My wife suffered from laming traumatic dislocation for eight years.
From Time Magazine Archive
Of all the difficult hurdles a new French Premier must leap without laming himself, the first and foremost is Algeria.
From Time Magazine Archive
The corn comparison against the International Copy-right, which I read in some newspapers, is a laming comparison.
From Why a National Literature Cannot Flourish in the United States of North America by Joseph Rocchietti
I used so much force that every nerve in my body was jarred, and I was afraid of laming myself.
From Dick Cheveley His Adventures and Misadventures by William H. C. Groome
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.
