limp

¹ American  

[limp] / lɪmp /

verb (used without object)

limps, present (3rd person singular) limped, past participle, past limping present participle

1. to walk with a labored, jerky movement, as when lame.

2. to proceed in a lame, faltering, or labored manner.

   His writing limps from one cliché to another. The old car limped along.

3. to progress slowly and with great difficulty; make little or no advance.

   an economy that limps along at a level just above total bankruptcy.

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noun

limps plural

1. a lame movement or gait.

   The accident left him with a slight limp.

limp ² American  

[limp] / lɪmp /

adjective

limper, comparative limpest superlative

1. lacking stiffness or firmness, as of substance, fiber, structure, or bodily frame.

   a limp body.

   Synonyms:

   soft, flaccid, flabby

2. lacking vitality; weary; tired; fatigued.

   Limp with exhaustion, she dropped into the nearest chair.

   Synonyms:

   weak, feeble

3. without firmness, force, energy, etc., as of character.

   limp, spiritless prose.

   Synonyms:

   weak, feeble

4. flexible; not stiff or rigid.

   a Bible in a limp leather binding.

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limp ¹ British  

/ lɪmp /

verb

1. to walk with an uneven step, esp with a weak or injured leg

2. to advance in a labouring or faltering manner

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noun

1. an uneven walk or progress

limp ² British  

/ lɪmp /

adjective

1. not firm or stiff

2. not energetic or vital

3. (of the binding of a book) not stiffened with boards

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• limper
  noun
• limpness
  noun
• limping
  adjective
• limpingly
  adverb
• limply
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• limps
  plural

Adjectives

• limper
  comparative
• limpest
  superlative

Participles

• limping
  present
• limped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• limp
  simple
• limps
  simple
• have limped
  perfect
• has limped
  perfect
• am limping
  progressive
• are limping
  progressive
• is limping
  progressive
• have been limping
  perfect progressive
• has been limping
  perfect progressive

Past

• limped
  simple
• had limped
  perfect
• was limping
  progressive
• were limping
  progressive
• had been limping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will limp
  simple
• will have limped
  perfect
• will be limping
  progressive
• will have been limping
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

When Pulisic spoke with reporters after that game, he was walking without a limp and said he didn’t believe the injury was serious.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026

She added that at about 17-months-old, he started to walk with a limp which was unusual as he had walked well beforehand.

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026

In another, a limp man partly covered in a blanket was carried away in a stretcher.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

He said he then entered the bathroom and saw Nix cradling Andrea, who was "limp" and wrapped in a towel.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

I readied myself into a crouch and peeked around the outcrop at the limp camel.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• falter
• hobble
• hop
• shuffle
• stagger
• stumble
• waddle