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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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:
It was an already-poorly lamb, which Fiona said had not shown typical symptoms - it had been drooling, dropping food from its mouth and its legs were stiff, but not lame.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 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
Culturally, hyper-machismo has oscillated from cool to lame to ironically cool and back again for decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
So there may not be any significant surprises from the Fed on Wednesday, especially now that Powell is essentially a lame duck.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
I was shaking my head at the lame antics when they cut over to my place and gave what little background they could on me.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
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
Hockney wore a gold lamé jacket at the ceremony, under the traditional academic gown.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
He stood just over 5 feet but commanded theaters filled with thousands of people, standing onstage in shimmering sapphire or gold lamé suits, while four generations of fans screamed his name.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2025
I select her gold lamé sandals, which have a thick platform sole and an ankle strap.
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
Teahupoo makes and breaks, or shames and sometimes even lames.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was going to be quite a sight, and we couldn't be the only three lames in there looking like we still played with blocks.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
He’s also a lame duck and getting lamer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
The sharing of AI-generated images online, for one thing, has gone from seeming cool and even a little spooky to lamer than an account with a blue check mark.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 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
Under H. C., under H. C., It will be lamer, more-of-the-samer, take it from me!
From Washington Post ● Jun. 23, 2016
“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
And she just showed us why in the lamest way possible, drawing a rare bit of bipartisan scorn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
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 calls Grodin “the lamest host we’ve ever had,” then storms out.
From Washington Post ● May 19, 2021
Rachel could tell the lamest jokes and boys fall about the place in laughter.
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
A syphilitic infection, contracted in his university days and never diagnosed, had progressively lamed his left leg, crippled his left arm, and in his last years reduced him to almost helpless invalidism.
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
In the lake, the perch, pike and sun.isn are lamed for their tastiness.
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
Some of them were small and troublesome, creatures who lamed horses and spoiled milk.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
My wife suffered from laming traumatic dislocation for eight years.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
Of all the difficult hurdles a new French Premier must leap without laming himself, the first and foremost is Algeria.
From Time Magazine Archive
In every other particular I had scrupulously observed it even to the severe laming of my unfortunate horse.
From A Frontier Mystery by Bertram Mitford
Down the hills he walked to avoid laming the mares.
From Roumanian Stories Translated from the Original Roumanian by Various
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.
