lime
1 Americannoun
-
the small, greenish-yellow, acid fruit of a citrus tree, Citrus aurantifolia, allied to the lemon.
-
the tree that bears this fruit.
-
greenish yellow.
adjective
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of the color lime.
-
of or made with limes.
noun
-
Also called caustic lime,. Also called calcium oxide. Also called calx, quicklime. Also called burnt lime;. a white or grayish-white, odorless, lumpy, very slightly water-soluble solid, CaO, that when combined with water forms calcium hydroxide slaked lime, obtained from calcium carbonate, limestone, or oyster shells: used chiefly in mortars, plasters, and cements, in bleaching powder, and in the manufacture of steel, paper, glass, and various chemicals of calcium.
-
a calcium compound for improving crops grown in soils deficient in lime.
verb (used with object)
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limes,
present (3rd person singular)
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limed,
past participle, past
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liming
present participle
noun
noun
noun
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short for quicklime birdlime slaked lime
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agriculture any of certain calcium compounds, esp calcium hydroxide, spread as a dressing on lime-deficient land
verb
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to spread (twigs, etc) with birdlime
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to spread a calcium compound upon (land) to improve plant growth
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to catch (animals, esp birds) with or as if with birdlime
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to whitewash or cover (a wall, ceiling, etc) with a mixture of lime and water ( limewash )
noun
noun
-
a small Asian citrus tree, Citrus aurantifolia, with stiff sharp spines and small round or oval greenish fruits
-
-
the fruit of this tree, having acid fleshy pulp rich in vitamin C
-
( as modifier )
lime juice
-
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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limesimple
-
limessimple
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have limedperfect
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has limedperfect
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am limingprogressive
-
are limingprogressive
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is limingprogressive
-
have been limingperfect progressive
-
has been limingperfect progressive
Past
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limedsimple
-
had limedperfect
-
was limingprogressive
-
were limingprogressive
-
had been limingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lime1
First recorded in 1615–25; from Spanish lima, from Arabic līmah, līm “citrus fruit,” from Persian līmū(n); cf. lemon
Origin of lime2
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English līm; cognate with Dutch lijm, German Leim, Old Norse līm “glue,” Latin līmus “slime”; akin to loam
Origin of lime3
First recorded in 1615–25; unexplained variant of obsolete line, lind, Middle English, Old English lind; see linden
Origin of lime4
Shortened form
Vocabulary lists containing lime
English Food and Drink Words Derived from Arabic
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Non-Color Words to Use When Describing Color
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Green
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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:
Then came paper towels, Method cleaner, dish soap, lime sparkling water and grapefruit-scented antibacterial wipes.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Items like honey chicken and cilantro lime sauce proved to be popular.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Lunch is followed by afternoon tea, including Welsh cakes and bara brith, a Welsh bread, with raspberry lime jam and lemon curd.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Lhoist North America, based in Fort Worth, Texas, is an extractor, manufacturer and supplier of lime, limestone and other mineral-based products.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Enter a man wearing lime green scrubs and a matching hospital cap.
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
Suffering most are trees "we really associate with an English garden or an English landscape", she said: oaks, sycamores, birch, limes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
I was addicted to reading the food scenes—the Christmas feast that the March girls bring to the Hummels, the illicit pickled limes Amy sucks on at school.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
She shows me ripening limes and lemons inside her allotment greenhouse.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2025
A lot of citrus, like limes, pomelos, lemons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2025
The morning sun turned it into a pane of green, brighter even than the freshest limes in Abuelito’s store.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
The previous owners — an army general and his wife, a journalist — paneled the main room in rustic limed wood with scalloped trim.
From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2024
Indeed, of the 180 or so tombs that his team examined at the cemetery, this was the only one that had been limed.
From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2023
Lightness and informality were crucial to achieving the desired open-arms effect, so the living room’s dusky paneling was stripped and limed to give it an earthier blanched appearance.
From Architectural Digest ● Sep. 8, 2015
Against one wall was a pile of limed and salted hides, still covered in hair.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 13, 2012
Most orchards and groves are fertilized only with nitrogen, phosphorus and potash, and limed when necessary.
From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Thirty-Seventh Annual Report Wooster, Ohio, September 3, 4, 5, 1946 by Northern Nut Growers Association
In effect, the liming enhances the way the ocean naturally removes CO2, says Harald Mumma, an environmental engineering graduate student at Notre Dame.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 15, 2022
The carbonates and oxides in the ash are valuable liming agents that can raise pH and help neutralize acidic soils.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 30, 2021
In Trinidad and Tobago, liming refers to being social for its own sake, and this festival will have a lounge dedicated to just that, where little visitors can relax and play games.
From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2019
They survived foul trouble; Melo Trimble fouled out with 1:03 remaining, and Robert Carter Jr. and Diamond Stone each finished with four fouls, liming them to 22 minutes apiece.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 18, 2016
While there is acid-resistant power, this clover responds to liming.
From Right Use of Lime in Soil Improvement by Alva Agee
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.
