cripple

1 of 3

noun

crip·​ple ˈkri-pəl 

plural cripples

1

dated + offensive : a lame or partly disabled person or animal

2

offensive : someone who is disabled or deficient in a specified manner

a social/emotional cripple

cripple

2 of 3

adjective

offensive

: being disabled, flawed, or imperfect

cripple

3 of 3

verb

crippled; crippling ˈkri-p(ə-)liŋ  ; cripples

transitive verb

1

: to severely damage (something) : to destroy the strength, efficiency, or wholeness of (something)

an economy crippled by inflation

2

offensive, of an injury or disease : to deprive (someone) of the use of a limb and especially a leg

cripplingly

ˈkri-p(ə-)liŋ-lē 

adverb

cripplingly high unemployment rates

Synonyms

Verb

• incapacitate
• injure
• disable
• wound
• maim
• hurt

Examples of cripple in a Sentence

Noun

He returned from war a cripple.

Verb

Higher taxes could cripple small businesses.

an economy crippled by inflation

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

According to Dougal, no one is going to bend their knee to a cripple. —Lincee Ray Published, EW.com, 8 Aug. 2025

Verb

Tony and Ziva race to the scene, finding the place crippled by a power outage followed by a ransom request for 115 million Euros. —Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 4 Sep. 2025

The last time active-duty military was sent to Chicago against the wishes of local officials was on July 4, 1894, according to the archives of the Chicago Tribune, when a labor dispute at a Pullman factory crippled the nation’s rail industry and resulted in days of rioting. —Andy Rose, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cripel, from Old English crypel; akin to Old English crēopan to creep — more at creep

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for cripple

• nipple
• ripple
• stipple
• tipple
• triple
• participle
• schizotypal

Kids Definition

cripple

1 of 2 noun

crip·​ple ˈkrip-əl 

offensive

: a partly disabled person

cripple

2 of 2 verb

crippled; crippling

ˈkrip-(ə-)liŋ

1

sometimes offensive : to take away the use of a limb and especially a leg

was crippled by the accident

2

: to make useless or imperfect

loss of power crippled the city

crippler

-(ə-)lər

noun

Medical Definition

cripple

1 of 3 noun

crip·​ple ˈkrip-əl 

offensive

: an individual having a physical disability and especially a physically impaired leg or foot

cripple

2 of 3 adjective

offensive

: being disabled

cripple

3 of 3 transitive verb

crippled; crippling -(ə)-liŋ  ; cripples

offensive

: to deprive of the use of a limb and especially a leg