limiting factor
Americannoun
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Physiology. the slowest, therefore rate-limiting, step in a process or reaction involving several steps.
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Biology. an environmental factor that tends to limit population size.
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 limiting factor here is not range but charging speed.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026
However, the new findings clearly show that oxygen diffusion within flight muscle tracheoles is not the limiting factor.
From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2026
A state investigation found that even if the reservoir had been full, the flow rate in the pipes “would have been a limiting factor in maintaining pressure and the system would have been quickly overwhelmed.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2026
Relatively high mortgage rates have been a limiting factor for the housing market this year.
From Barron's • Dec. 10, 2025
That's really the limiting factor to life support.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
