limb

¹ American  

[lim] / lɪm /

noun

1. a part or member of an animal body distinct from the head and trunk, as a leg, arm, or wing.

   the lower limbs;

   artificial limbs.

   Synonyms:

   extremity

2. a large or main branch of a tree.

3. a projecting part or member.

   the four limbs of a cross.

4. a person or thing regarded as a part, member, branch, offshoot, or scion of something.

   a limb of the central committee.

5. Archery. the upper or lower part of a bow.

6. Informal. a mischievous child, imp, or young scamp.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cut the limbs from (a felled tree).

idioms

1. out on a limb, in a dangerous or compromising situation; vulnerable.

   The company overextended itself financially and was soon out on a limb.

limb ² American  

[lim] / lɪm /

noun

1. Astronomy. the edge of the disk of the sun, a moon, or a planet.

2. the graduated edge of a quadrant or similar instrument.

3. Botany.

   1. the upper spreading part of a gamopetalous corolla.

   2. the expanded portion of a petal, sepal, or leaf.

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limb ¹ British  

/ lɪm /

noun

1. an arm or leg, or the analogous part on an animal, such as a wing

2. any of the main branches of a tree

3. a branching or projecting section or member; extension

4. a person or thing considered to be a member, part, or agent of a larger group or thing

5. a mischievous child (esp in limb of Satan or limb of the devil )

6. 1. in a precarious or questionable position

   2. isolated, esp because of unpopular opinions

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verb

1. (tr) a rare word for dismember

limb ² British  

/ lɪm /

noun

1. the edge of the apparent disc of the sun, a moon, or a planet

2. a graduated arc attached to instruments, such as the sextant, used for measuring angles

3. botany

   1. the expanded upper part of a bell-shaped corolla

   2. the expanded part of a leaf, petal, or sepal

4. either of the two halves of a bow

5. Also called: fold limb.  either of the sides of a geological fold

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limb Scientific  

/ lĭm /

1. One of the appendages of an animal, such as an arm of a starfish, the flipper of dolphins, or the arm and leg of a human, used for locomotion or grasping.

2. The expanded tip of a plant organ, such as a petal or corolla lobe.

3. The circumferential edge of the apparent disk of a celestial body.

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limb More Idioms  

1. see out on a limb; risk life and limb.

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Related Words

See branch.

Other Word Forms

• limbless adjective

Etymology

Origin of limb¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English lim, lim(m)e, Old English lim; akin to Old Norse lim “small branches, foliage,” limr “limb, joint (of meat),” līmi “broom (of twigs), rod,” Latin līmus “askew, aslant,” līmen “transverse beam, threshold, lintel”; the spelling limb first appears at the end of the 16th century, probably influenced by limb ² ( def. )

Origin of limb²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English limbe, from Old French limbe, and Latin limbus limbus ²; limbo ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

Willing to pay an arm and a leg for those World Series tickets? Then you're willing to give up two of your limbs for the season's biggest baseball games. Arms, legs, wings, flippers — these are all examples of limbs. But we shouldn't leave out the trees. They've got plenty of large branches or limbs as well. In fact, when you expose yourself to potentially negative consequences in order to help someone else, it's called "going out on a limb" — like crawling out on a big tree branch. Not a flipper.

Example Sentences

It is a status symbol, rite of passage and phantom limb wrapped into one.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

On set McGonigal said her disability was not made a "thing", and her costumes were tailored to suit her limb difference.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026

"Look at the length of the skull, the length of the neck, and the length of the hind limb -- you're in heron territory."

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

Washington: I’m not the only one here jumping on a limb — she’s gonna smoke it.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

About three o’clock of that day, I broke down; my strength failed me; I was seized with a violent aching of the head, attended with extreme dizziness; I trembled in every limb.

From "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Frederick Douglass

Related Words

• arm
• branch
• extremity
• leg
• stem
• wheel
• wing