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View synonyms for limp

limp

1

[ limp ]

verb (used without object)

  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.



noun

  1. a lame movement or gait:

    The accident left him with a slight limp.

limp

2

[ limp ]

adjective

, limp·er, limp·est.
  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.

limp

1

/ lɪmp /

adjective

  1. not firm or stiff
  2. not energetic or vital
  3. (of the binding of a book) not stiffened with boards
“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


limp

2

/ 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
“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

noun

  1. an uneven walk or progress
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈlimpness, noun
  • ˈlimply, adverb
  • ˈlimpingly, adverb
  • ˈlimping, adjectivenoun
  • ˈlimper, noun
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Other Words From

  • limper noun
  • limping·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of limp1

1560–70; back formation from obsolete limphault lame; Old English lemphealt limping ( halt 2 ); akin to Middle High German limpfen to limp

Origin of limp2

1700–10; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Icelandic limpa slackness, limpilegur soft, flabby
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Word History and Origins

Origin of limp1

C18: probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Icelandic limpa looseness

Origin of limp2

C16: probably a back formation from obsolete limphalt lame, from Old English lemphealt; related to Middle High German limpfen to limp
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Example Sentences

Sometimes you just need a contraption that will quickly turn limp pieces of bread into crunchy, warm slices of perfection.

Last week, he was limping noticeably after a hit by the Steelers.

Let the cabbage sit like this until limp and pliable, 30 minutes.

Except they often have a slight limp on the other side of their body from where their hemisphere was removed.

I’ve plunged several limp inflatable mats into my bathtub in search of streams of tiny bubbles, slapped synthetic patches over the holes, and yet still woken up in the middle of the night on my next trip with a rock jabbing me in the kidney.

He felt his body grow limp (like one of those high-speed films of a flower wilting).

Clean-shaven and balding, Saleem is in his forties and walks with a limp.

To compound it, Rice then treats her limp form with what appears to be cold contempt.

The charts now featured the likes of Limp Bizkit, a rap-metal band whose misogyny was so overt as to be comical.

One leg of his green pajamas hung limp, empty below the knee.

His head fell back limp on MacRae's arm, and the rest of the message went with the game old Dutchman across the big divide.

She had been walking alone with her arms hanging limp, letting her white skirts trail along the dewy path.

Very hot; very limp with the prevalent disease but greatly cheered up by the news of yesterday evening's battle at Helles.

Before we were entirely out of the crush of the city, the engine began to limp and shortly came to a stop.

The rider seemed as weak as the horse, for he swayed in the saddle as he rode, and the bridle reins hung limp in his hands.

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