limitation

[lim-i-tey-shuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR limitation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a limiting condition; restrictive weakness; lack of capacity; inability or handicap: He knows his limitations as a writer.

something that limits; a limit or bound; restriction: an arms limitation; a limitation on imports.

the act of limiting.

the state of being limited.

Law. the assignment, as by statute, of a period of time within which an action must be brought, or the period of time assigned: a statute of limitations.

Origin of limitation

1350–1400; Middle English lymytacion < Latin līmitātiōn- (stem of līmitātiō) a bounding, equivalent to līmitāt(us) (past participle of līmitāre to enclose within boundaries; see limit, -ate¹) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsnon·lim·i·ta·tion, noun

Can be confusedlimit limitation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for limitations

control, restriction, cramp, injunction, obstruction, curb, snag, stint, circumspection, stricture, check, drawback, modification, inhibition, reservation, taboo, condition, definition, bar, constraint

Examples from the Web for limitations

Contemporary Examples of limitations

Another bombshell: There is no statute of limitations on rape in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything
Liz Seccuro
December 16, 2014
Pennsylvania, where the assault is alleged to have taken place, has a 12-year statute of limitations on sexual assault.
No Wonder Cosby's Keeping Quiet: He Could Still Be Prosecuted
Jay Michaelson
November 23, 2014
Are there statutes of limitations for these crimes, which in some cases are alleged to have taken place decades ago?
No Wonder Cosby's Keeping Quiet: He Could Still Be Prosecuted
Jay Michaelson
November 23, 2014
According to the memo, Miller then asked what the statute of limitations in Illinois was and to define what the allegations meant.
Chicago Priests Raped and Pillaged for 50 Years
Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 7, 2014
It helped too that crime was no longer at the top of voter concerns, but the statute of limitations apparently has run out.
And Here Come 2014’s Willie Hortons
Eleanor Clift
November 2, 2014

Historical Examples of limitations

He early ascertained his limitations with respect to New York and its people.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
The happy man is he who knows his limitations, yet bows to no false gods.
Ballads of a Bohemian
Robert W. Service
It's well enough for Milly; she doesn't understand her limitations.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
Away with it and its limitations, and those of its big brother, the automobile!
A Woman Tenderfoot
Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
Phoebe in her earnestness forgot to keep within the limitations of their dialect.
Good Indian
B. M. Bower

British Dictionary definitions for limitations

limitation

noun

something that limits a quality or achievement

the act of limiting or the condition of being limited

law a certain period of time, legally defined, within which an action, claim, etc, must be commenced

property law a restriction upon the duration or extent of an estate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for limitations

limitation

late 14c., from Old French limitacion and directly from Latin limitationem (nominative limitatio), noun of action from past participle stem of limitare (see limit (v.)). Phrase statute of limitations attested by 1768.