limber1
- characterized by ease in bending the body; supple; lithe.
- bending readily; flexible; pliant.
- to make oneself limber (usually followed by up): to limber up before the game.
- to make (something) limber (usually followed by up): She tried to limber up her wits before the exam.
Origin of limber1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
limber2
- a two-wheeled vehicle, originally pulled by four or six horses, behind which is towed a field gun or caisson.
- to attach the limber to (a gun) in preparation for moving away (sometimes followed by up).
- to attach a limber to a gun (usually followed by up).
Origin of limber2
limber3
- Usually limbers. Nautical. a passage or gutter in which seepage collects to be pumped away, located on each side of a central keelson; bilge.
Origin of limber3
Related Words
pliablespryagilenimblelitheresilientgracefulsupplelooseelasticplasticdeftlissomepliantspringylithesomeExamples from the Web for limber
Contemporary Examples
The role eventually went to the limber Brit Andrew Garfield.
Josh Hutcherson on the J. Law Hacking Scandal and Life After 'The Hunger Games'Marlow Stern
September 11, 2014
Then, a long and limber girl with wide eyes and an uncanny resemblance to Rihanna grabs my hand and startles me by speaking.
A few reps of dynamic moves like toy soldiers and step-ups will get you warm and limber.
Watch the brave and limber artist go Cirque-du-Soleil style and dance with some provocative figures.
Michelle Obama pumps up the crowd, Karl Rove rides a Segway, and More Viral VideosThe Daily Beast Video
September 8, 2012
Then he does an obstacle course to limber up, or some endurance work on the treadmill.
Historical Examples
Any woman may fall a victim to a limber, manly, and courteous bow.
The O'RuddyStephen Crane
He got under way like a man on stilts, and he was about as limber as a pair of fire-tongs.
Shorty McCabeSewell Ford
You can have plenty of time to limber your wing; the scrub won't object to that.
Rival Pitchers of OakdaleMorgan Scott
The guns stopped, the men got down from limber and caisson, the horses were unhitched.
The Long RollMary Johnston
Stafford seated himself on the limber, and watched the double storm.
The Long RollMary Johnston
limber1
- capable of being easily bent or flexed; pliant
- able to move or bend freely; agile
Word Origin
limber2
- part of a gun carriage, often containing ammunition, consisting of an axle, pole, and two wheels, that is attached to the rear of an item of equipment, esp field artillery
- (usually foll by up) to attach the limber (to a gun, etc)
Word Origin
limber3
- (often plural) nautical (in the bilge of a vessel) a fore-and-aft channel through a series of holes in the frames (limber holes) where water collects and can be pumped out
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for limber
adj.
"pliant, flexible," 1560s, of uncertain origin, possibly from limb (n.1) on notion of supple boughs of a tree [Barnhart], or from limp "flaccid" [Skeat], or somehow from Middle English lymer "shaft of a cart" (see limber (n.)), but the late appearance of the -b- in that word argues against it. Related: Limberness. Dryden used limber-ham (see ham (n.1) in the "joint" sense) as a name for a character "perswaded by what is last said to him, and changing next word."
n.
"detachable forepart of a gun carriage," 1620s, from Middle English lymer (early 15c.), earlier lymon (c.1400), probably from Old French limon "shaft," a word perhaps of Celtic origin, or possibly from Germanic and related to limb (n.1). Hence, limber (v.) "to attach a limber to a gun" (1843). Cf. related Spanish limon "shaft," leman "helmsman."
v.
1748, from limber (adj.). Related: Limbered; limbering.