limited
Americanadjective
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confined within limits; restricted or circumscribed.
a limited space; limited resources.
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Government. restricted with reference to governing powers by limitations prescribed in laws and in a constitution, as in
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characterized by an inability to think imaginatively or independently; lacking originality or scope; narrow.
a rather limited intelligence.
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Chiefly British.
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responsible for the debts of a company only to a specified amount proportionate to the percentage of stock held.
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(of a business firm) owned by stockholders, each having a restricted liability for the company's debts.
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(usually initial capital letter) incorporated; Inc. Ltd.
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(of railroad trains, buses, etc.) making only a limited number of stops en route.
noun
adjective
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having a limit; restricted; confined
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without fullness or scope; narrow
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(of governing powers, sovereignty, etc) restricted or checked, by or as if by a constitution, laws, or an assembly
limited government
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(of a train) stopping only at certain stations and having only a set number of cars for passengers
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(of a business enterprise) owned by shareholders whose liability for the enterprise's debts is restricted
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of limited
Explanation
If your gift certificate is only good for a limited amount of time, you have a specific number of days in which you can use it. Limited means short, small, or restricted by specific rules. When a rock concert has a limited number of seats, you may not be able to count on sitting down for the show. Likewise, it's tricky to open a business in a city with a limited amount of retail space. The adjective limited, which comes from the verb limit, was originally used to describe certain train routes — a limited was a term for an express train the late 1800's.
Vocabulary lists containing limited
Narrative Writing, List 2
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STAAR Grade 8 Reading: Literature, List 1
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STAAR Grade 6 Reading: Literature, List 1
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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.
The limited edition Epiphone instrument in Manchester City blue was one of a number of items put up for sale by the son of Huw Richards, a former front-of-house sound engineer with the band.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Major medical groups condemn lethal injections so the people administering the drugs often have limited medical qualifications, experts said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
But to hear Florence Pugh deliver it as Cathy’s belief, and the establishing paradigm of Kazan’s limited series, changes things.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
Earlier this week, Anthropic hosted a limited giveaway of “Clawd” plushies and stickers — a reference to the pixelated crab logo featured in the Claude Code terminal tool.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
Early in his life, he had limited access to books.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
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.
