lime

¹ American  

[lahym] / laɪm /

noun

1. the small, greenish-yellow, acid fruit of a citrus tree, Citrus aurantifolia, allied to the lemon.

2. the tree that bears this fruit.

3. greenish yellow.

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adjective

1. of the color lime.

2. of or made with limes.

lime ² American  

[lahym] / laɪm /

noun

1. Also called caustic lime, calcium oxide, calx, quicklime, 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.

2. a calcium compound for improving crops grown in soils deficient in lime.

3. birdlime.

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verb (used with object)

• limes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• limed,
  past participle,  past
• liming
  present participle

1. to treat (soil) with lime or compounds of calcium.

2. to smear (twigs, branches, etc.) with birdlime.

3. to catch with or as if with birdlime.

4. to paint or cover (a surface) with a composition of lime and water; whitewash.

   The government buildings were freshly limed.

lime ³ American  

[lahym] / laɪm /

noun

1. the European linden, Tilia europaea.

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lime ⁴ American  

[lahym] / laɪm /

noun

Informal.

1. a shortened form of limelight.

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lime ¹ British  

/ laɪm /

noun

1. short for quicklime birdlime slaked lime

2. agriculture any of certain calcium compounds, esp calcium hydroxide, spread as a dressing on lime-deficient land

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verb

1. to spread (twigs, etc) with birdlime

2. to spread a calcium compound upon (land) to improve plant growth

3. to catch (animals, esp birds) with or as if with birdlime

4. to whitewash or cover (a wall, ceiling, etc) with a mixture of lime and water ( limewash )

lime ² British  

/ laɪm /

noun

1. any linden tree, such as Tilia europaea, planted in many varieties for ornament

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lime ³ British  

/ laɪm /

verb

1. slang (intr) (of young people) to sit or stand around on the pavement

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lime ⁴ British  

/ laɪm /

noun

1. a small Asian citrus tree, Citrus aurantifolia, with stiff sharp spines and small round or oval greenish fruits

2. 1. the fruit of this tree, having acid fleshy pulp rich in vitamin C

   2. ( as modifier )

      lime juice

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adjective

1. having the flavour of lime fruit

lime Scientific  

/ līm /

1. A white, lumpy, caustic powder made of calcium oxide sometimes mixed with other chemicals. It is made industrially by heating limestone, bones, or shells. Lime is used as an industrial alkali, in waste treatment, and in making glass, paper, steel, insecticides, and building plaster. It is also added to soil to lower its acidity.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• limeless
  adjective
• limelike
  adjective
• unlimed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• liming
  present
• limed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• lime
  simple
• limes
  simple
• have limed
  perfect
• has limed
  perfect
• am liming
  progressive
• are liming
  progressive
• is liming
  progressive
• have been liming
  perfect progressive
• has been liming
  perfect progressive

Past

• limed
  simple
• had limed
  perfect
• was liming
  progressive
• were liming
  progressive
• had been liming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will lime
  simple
• will have limed
  perfect
• will be liming
  progressive
• will have been liming
  perfect progressive

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lime limes limed liming

Descendants of Michael P. Hannin, who acquired the quarry in 1931, applied for vested rights in 2018, saying they had long intended to mine and process the lime deposits there.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

There are also around 16 fruit trees on the property—including orange, tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, and lime trees—as well as a brick-enclosed vegetable garden.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

The lime converts arecoline into a free base form, which makes it easier for the body to absorb.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

She got something personal to her but declined to say what it was—except that it was neither a lemon nor a lime.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

“I love the color—I didn’t know they come in lime green!”

From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper

Suffering most are trees "we really associate with an English garden or an English landscape", she said: oaks, sycamores, birch, limes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

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

A lot of citrus, like limes, pomelos, lemons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2025

“Why, I owe at least a dozen pickled limes, and I can’t pay them, you know, till I have money, for Marmee forbade my having anything charged at the shop.”

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

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

Time was when ordinary paper could be written on in comfort, but that which adulterated Falstaff's sack spoiled it for the purpose, and converted it into limed twigs to catch the winged pen.

From Notes and Queries, Number 212, November 19, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by George Bell

But as CO2 continues to rise and geoengineering a climate solution grows more tempting, ocean liming has a key advantage over other geoengineering proposals, such as schemes to release sunlight-reflecting particles in the atmosphere.

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

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

But, he added, “As long as we are talking about liming starts now and not in the regular season I’m fine with it.”

From Washington Times ● Feb. 20, 2015

The opinion is held by many that the lasting quality of thatch has deteriorated since the practice of liming the cornland has unfortunately been given up.

From Cottage Building in Cob, Pisé, Chalk and Clay a Renaissance (2nd edition) by Clough Williams-Ellis

Related Words

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