limp
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
limps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
limped,
past participle, past
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limping
present participle
-
to walk with a labored, jerky movement, as when lame.
-
to proceed in a lame, faltering, or labored manner.
His writing limps from one cliché to another. The old car limped along.
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to progress slowly and with great difficulty; make little or no advance.
an economy that limps along at a level just above total bankruptcy.
noun
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limps
plural
adjective
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limper,
comparative
-
limpest
superlative
-
lacking stiffness or firmness, as of substance, fiber, structure, or bodily frame.
a limp body.
-
lacking vitality; weary; tired; fatigued.
Limp with exhaustion, she dropped into the nearest chair.
-
without firmness, force, energy, etc., as of character.
limp, spiritless prose.
-
flexible; not stiff or rigid.
a Bible in a limp leather binding.
verb
-
to walk with an uneven step, esp with a weak or injured leg
-
to advance in a labouring or faltering manner
noun
adjective
-
not firm or stiff
-
not energetic or vital
-
(of the binding of a book) not stiffened with boards
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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limpsimple
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limpssimple
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have limpedperfect
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has limpedperfect
-
am limpingprogressive
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are limpingprogressive
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is limpingprogressive
-
have been limpingperfect progressive
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has been limpingperfect progressive
Past
-
limpedsimple
-
had limpedperfect
-
was limpingprogressive
-
were limpingprogressive
-
had been limpingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of limp1
1560–70; back formation from obsolete limphault lame; Old English lemphealt limping ( see halt 2); akin to Middle High German limpfen to limp
Origin of limp2
1700–10; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Icelandic limpa slackness, limpilegur soft, flabby
Explanation
If you walk unevenly, you have a limp. Maybe you pulled your hamstring at the annual Thanksgiving Day Football Showdown, or maybe one leg is three inches shorter than the other. Whatever the reason, if your gait is off kilter, you limp. You can have a limp (the noun), or you can limp (the verb), and both mean that for some reason your legs don’t work quite in synch. Limp can also be an adjective that means "not strong or firm," like your friends' limp response to your invitation to come help paint your house or when your hair looks limp, meaning it's just hanging, with no volume or style.
Vocabulary lists containing limp
Because of Winn-Dixie
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Purple Hibiscus
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25 Ways of Walking
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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:
He previously suffered a leg injury that left him with a limp and has apparently adapted his lifestyle, preferring to spend his time lazing on a rock, rather than fighting with fellow bears.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Instead, Iñárritu shoves in a limp subplot about a missing daughter to humanize him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
I preferred the big cities—Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León—where I could limp into the town square and reward myself with museums, cathedrals, mushroom pinxtos or paella that could feed 35 people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
It was almost limp with moisture, and there was an obvious contrast between where the breading ended and the chicken began.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
Susie lifted Doc’s limp body in her long, thin arms as her patent-leather black eyes searched my face.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
Still, their emotionally ruinous tug-of-war goes on for so many rounds that the movie limps toward the end credits exhausted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
I ask it to attack my drafts, defend the opposing view, and flag every transition that limps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
As the housing market limps along, analysts have become less enthused about D.R.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
As Pilar Galang limps with her walking stick into a room full of fellow octogenarian women in a sleepy Philippine town, she suddenly struggles to remember why she is wearing her favourite floral dress.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2023
She limps over to the couch where Marisol, the twins, and I are huddled together, eating from our plates.
From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi
They could be even limper against Leicester, and they will still win to move even closer to the title.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2025
Much of the rest in “Languages of Truth” is limper and less interesting.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2021
And Bieber delivers his most bravura vocal on the acoustic guitar–driven “E.T.A.,” which ideally would have ended the album rather than the several limper retreads that follow it.
From Slate ● Feb. 18, 2020
Later, fellow Canadians Feist and Timber Timbre make the ballad-est of ballads even limper, coasting “Don’t Give Up” at an easy folk pace, pleasant but unconvincing.
From Time ● Jan. 6, 2014
So out came the tarlatan, looking older, limper, and shabbier than ever beside Sallie’s crisp new one.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
I’m reaching a point where I think the jump scare is the lamest, limpest form of horror.
From The Verge ● Sep. 21, 2017
Russia, tipped as possible winners just a few days earlier, crashed out with drama – but for Poland it was the limpest possible exit: the co-hosts offering next to nothing against the Czechs.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 16, 2012
The most enraptured fans are children : the limpest puppet show or the most ancient Western will bring in neighborhoods of bug-eyed, awestruck kids.
From Time Magazine Archive
A man took a leg under each arm, another man took hold of his shoulders, and Limber Tim, now the limpest thing dead or alive was borne to his cabin.
From First Fam'lies of the Sierras by Joaquin Miller
George Eliot says in Middlemarch that "a kind Providence furnishes the limpest personality with a little gum or starch in the form of tradition."
From George Eliot; a Critical Study of Her Life, Writings & Philosophy by George Willis Cooke
Wall Street just limped through its roughest stretch in months, and every investor is asking the same nervous question: Is the worst over in the stock market, or is the selloff just getting started?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
The super athletic forward who thrilled fans with his highlight-reel dunks last season took a hard landing on one wild drive during the first half and limped toward the bench.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
Lewis Hamilton described the Austrian Grand Prix as "a reality check" for Ferrari, after he and Charles Leclerc limped to fifth and eighth places the race after the seven-time champion's impressive victory in Barcelona.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Stocks limped to the end of a five-day slump on Friday, a run in which even blowout earnings from chip maker Micron couldn’t build any traction in major indexes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Aru stumbled back as the shadow thing limped out of the lamp.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
“There’s a lot of us kind of limping toward the end here, a lot of aches and pains this year.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
England's fluency juxtaposed Sri Lanka's innings as the tourist batters struggled again, limping to 145-9 after being bowled out for just 135 in the opener on Tuesday.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Outside linebacker Kyle Kennard exited practice with a trainer after limping off the field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Now I stub my toe, I’m limping for three weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
Under the cover of night he wobbled unsteadily to his feet, limping away up the bed of the ditch towards Redwall.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
