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physical handicap

British  

noun

  1. loss of or failure to develop a specific bodily function or functions, whether of movement, sensation, coordination, or speech, but excluding mental impairments or disabilities

"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

Other Word Forms

  • physically handicapped adjective

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.

He had spent years overcoming an enormous physical handicap.

From Washington Post • Aug. 2, 2021

A defence ministry spokesman told AFP that the soldier had been undergoing tests at a military hospital, which classified the loss of male genitals as a mental or physical handicap.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2020

Ms. Netrebko maintains, however, that her character’s blindness is nothing more than a physical handicap and that the only thing represented by roses is — roses.

From New York Times • Jan. 21, 2015

The sister in the play, Laura, has a physical handicap, a limp, which Williams substituted for the mental illness of his real sister, Rose.

From Washington Post

Like any physical handicap I try to live with it, minimize it.

From Voices from the Past by Bartlett, Paul Alexander