lime
1 Americannoun
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the small, greenish-yellow, acid fruit of a citrus tree, Citrus aurantifolia, allied to the lemon.
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the tree that bears this fruit.
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greenish yellow.
adjective
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of the color lime.
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of or made with limes.
noun
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Also called caustic lime,. Also called calcium oxide. Also called calx, quicklime. Also called burnt lime;. a white or grayish-white, odorless, lumpy, very slightly water-soluble solid, CaO, that when combined with water forms calcium hydroxide slaked lime, obtained from calcium carbonate, limestone, or oyster shells: used chiefly in mortars, plasters, and cements, in bleaching powder, and in the manufacture of steel, paper, glass, and various chemicals of calcium.
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a calcium compound for improving crops grown in soils deficient in lime.
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
noun
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short for quicklime birdlime slaked lime
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agriculture any of certain calcium compounds, esp calcium hydroxide, spread as a dressing on lime-deficient land
verb
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to spread (twigs, etc) with birdlime
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to spread a calcium compound upon (land) to improve plant growth
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to catch (animals, esp birds) with or as if with birdlime
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to whitewash or cover (a wall, ceiling, etc) with a mixture of lime and water ( limewash )
noun
noun
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a small Asian citrus tree, Citrus aurantifolia, with stiff sharp spines and small round or oval greenish fruits
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the fruit of this tree, having acid fleshy pulp rich in vitamin C
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( as modifier )
lime juice
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adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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limesimple
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limessimple
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have limedperfect
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has limedperfect
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am limingprogressive
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are limingprogressive
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is limingprogressive
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have been limingperfect progressive
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has been limingperfect progressive
Past
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limedsimple
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had limedperfect
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was limingprogressive
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were limingprogressive
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had been limingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lime1
First recorded in 1615–25; from Spanish lima, from Arabic līmah, līm “citrus fruit,” from Persian līmū(n); cf. lemon
Origin of lime2
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English līm; cognate with Dutch lijm, German Leim, Old Norse līm “glue,” Latin līmus “slime”; akin to loam
Origin of lime3
First recorded in 1615–25; unexplained variant of obsolete line, lind, Middle English, Old English lind; see linden
Origin of lime4
Shortened form
Vocabulary lists containing lime
English Food and Drink Words Derived from Arabic
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Non-Color Words to Use When Describing Color
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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:
Lunch is followed by afternoon tea, including Welsh cakes and bara brith, a Welsh bread, with raspberry lime jam and lemon curd.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Your only remaining responsibility is to slice a lime for the bowl — and perhaps one for the drink you’ll carry back to the couch, where the air conditioner is already hard at work.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
“It builds on our core quarrying competency, expands our geographic footprint and immediately establishes Martin Marietta as the leading national producer of lime solutions,” he said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Directions Combine the shrimp, fish or chickpeas with the lime juice, onion, jalapeño and cilantro.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026
Her lime green viper hair and Bargain Mart vest clashed horribly with the giant’s color scheme.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
I was addicted to reading the food scenes—the Christmas feast that the March girls bring to the Hummels, the illicit pickled limes Amy sucks on at school.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
She shows me ripening limes and lemons inside her allotment greenhouse.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2025
I also have an olive oil from Puglia that has lemons and limes in it, it's not just a flavored oil and I had a case of it in Puglia so I keep that there.
From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2025
In short: Vice President Kamala Harris, thrust on Sunday into a brighter limelight — more on limes later — after President Biden quit the presidential race and endorsed her, is having a digital cultural moment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2024
He began fishing limes out of his frayed pockets.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
The previous owners — an army general and his wife, a journalist — paneled the main room in rustic limed wood with scalloped trim.
From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2024
Indeed, of the 180 or so tombs that his team examined at the cemetery, this was the only one that had been limed.
From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2023
Lightness and informality were crucial to achieving the desired open-arms effect, so the living room’s dusky paneling was stripped and limed to give it an earthier blanched appearance.
From Architectural Digest ● Sep. 8, 2015
Against one wall was a pile of limed and salted hides, still covered in hair.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 13, 2012
It is frequently taken, too, in the nets spread for Larks, or inveigled into the snare of the fowler who pursues his craft with limed twigs and the imitated cry of the Owl.
From British Birds in their Haunts by Johns, Rev. C. A.
In effect, the liming enhances the way the ocean naturally removes CO2, says Harald Mumma, an environmental engineering graduate student at Notre Dame.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 15, 2022
The carbonates and oxides in the ash are valuable liming agents that can raise pH and help neutralize acidic soils.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 30, 2021
In Trinidad and Tobago, liming refers to being social for its own sake, and this festival will have a lounge dedicated to just that, where little visitors can relax and play games.
From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2019
They survived foul trouble; Melo Trimble fouled out with 1:03 remaining, and Robert Carter Jr. and Diamond Stone each finished with four fouls, liming them to 22 minutes apiece.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 18, 2016
I am not aware that either the Hawkins method or the Cooper coal liming process has yet received a trial from any Scotch gas engineer.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 601, July 9, 1887 by Various
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.
