lime

¹ American  

[lahym] / laɪm /

noun

1. the small, greenish-yellow, acid fruit of a citrus tree, Citrus aurantifolia, allied to the lemon.

2. the tree that bears this fruit.

3. greenish yellow.

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adjective

1. of the color lime.

2. of or made with limes.

lime ² American  

[lahym] / laɪm /

noun

1. 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.

2. a calcium compound for improving crops grown in soils deficient in lime.

3. birdlime.

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verb (used with object)

• limes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• limed,
  past participle,  past
• liming
  present participle

1. to treat (soil) with lime or compounds of calcium.

2. to smear (twigs, branches, etc.) with birdlime.

3. to catch with or as if with birdlime.

4. to paint or cover (a surface) with a composition of lime and water; whitewash.

   The government buildings were freshly limed.

lime ³ American  

[lahym] / laɪm /

noun

1. the European linden, Tilia europaea.

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lime ⁴ American  

[lahym] / laɪm /

noun

Informal.

1. a shortened form of limelight.

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lime ¹ British  

/ laɪm /

noun

1. short for quicklime birdlime slaked lime

2. agriculture any of certain calcium compounds, esp calcium hydroxide, spread as a dressing on lime-deficient land

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verb

1. to spread (twigs, etc) with birdlime

2. to spread a calcium compound upon (land) to improve plant growth

3. to catch (animals, esp birds) with or as if with birdlime

4. to whitewash or cover (a wall, ceiling, etc) with a mixture of lime and water ( limewash )

lime ² British  

/ laɪm /

noun

1. any linden tree, such as Tilia europaea, planted in many varieties for ornament

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lime ³ British  

/ laɪm /

noun

1. a small Asian citrus tree, Citrus aurantifolia, with stiff sharp spines and small round or oval greenish fruits

2. 1. the fruit of this tree, having acid fleshy pulp rich in vitamin C

   2. ( as modifier )

      lime juice

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adjective

1. having the flavour of lime fruit

lime ⁴ British  

/ laɪm /

verb

1. slang (intr) (of young people) to sit or stand around on the pavement

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lime Scientific  

/ līm /

1. A white, lumpy, caustic powder made of calcium oxide sometimes mixed with other chemicals. It is made industrially by heating limestone, bones, or shells. Lime is used as an industrial alkali, in waste treatment, and in making glass, paper, steel, insecticides, and building plaster. It is also added to soil to lower its acidity.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• limeless
  adjective
• limelike
  adjective
• unlimed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• liming
  present
• limed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• lime
  simple
• limes
  simple
• have limed
  perfect
• has limed
  perfect
• am liming
  progressive
• are liming
  progressive
• is liming
  progressive
• have been liming
  perfect progressive
• has been liming
  perfect progressive

Past

• limed
  simple
• had limed
  perfect
• was liming
  progressive
• were liming
  progressive
• had been liming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will lime
  simple
• will have limed
  perfect
• will be liming
  progressive
• will have been liming
  perfect progressive

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lime limes limed liming

“That have complex flavor profiles, that are not just juice and a splash of soda or a lime or something.”

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

Items like honey chicken and cilantro lime sauce proved to be popular.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

The combined company is expected to benefit from the boom in data-center construction and semiconductor fabrication, both of which require lime.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

“It builds on our core quarrying competency, expands our geographic footprint and immediately establishes Martin Marietta as the leading national producer of lime solutions,” he said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

“A water with a lemon and a lime both, please, and the largest free basket of chips that you’re allowed to bring me.”

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

She started with limes, lemons and six flavor shots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

She shows me ripening limes and lemons inside her allotment greenhouse.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2025

In the dense warren of stalls, the best-looking produce is displayed prominently: ripe bananas, glistening limes and orderly rows of broccoli and asparagus.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2024

Nearby trees offer dragonfruit and limes, and there's even a smattering of papaya plants.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2024

He was pretending not to give the limes to the little girl.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

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

Where straws and cords are to be limed it should be very hot, and after they are prepared they should be kept in a leather bag till used.

From Practical Taxidermy A manual of instruction to the amateur in collecting, preserving, and setting up natural history specimens of all kinds. To which is added a chapter upon the pictorial arrangement of museums. With additional instructions in modelling and artistic taxidermy. by Montagu Browne

But as CO2 continues to rise and geoengineering a climate solution grows more tempting, ocean liming has a key advantage over other geoengineering proposals, such as schemes to release sunlight-reflecting particles in the atmosphere.

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

Heavy liming of an acid soil pays when a seeding to permanent pasture is made, and old sods on land unfit for tillage may be given a new life by a dressing.

From Right Use of Lime in Soil Improvement by Alva Agee

Related Words

• compost
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• mulch
• pollinate
• propagate