1
a
: something that bounds, restrains, or confines
the age limit for junior golf
b
: the utmost extent
pushed her body to the limit
2
a
: a geographic or political boundary
b
limits plural
: the place enclosed within a boundary : bounds
into the limits of the North they came—
John Milton
John Milton3
: limitation
the sadness is without limit—William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare4
: a determining feature or differentia in logic
5
: a prescribed maximum or minimum amount, quantity, or number: such as
a
: the maximum quantity of game or fish that may be taken legally in a specified period
b
: a maximum established for a gambling bet, raise, or payoff
6
a
: a number whose numerical difference from a mathematical function is arbitrarily small for all values of the independent variables that are sufficiently close to but not equal to given prescribed numbers or that are sufficiently large positively or negatively
b
: a number that for an infinite sequence of numbers is such that ultimately each of the remaining terms of the sequence differs from this number by less than any given positive amount
7
: something that is exasperating or intolerable
We've had bad weather, but this is the limit.
limited; limiting; limits
2
a
: to restrict the bounds or limits of
the specialist can no longer limit himself to his specialty
b
: to curtail or reduce in quantity or extent
we must limit the power of aggressors
limiter
noun
Synonyms
Examples of limit in a Sentence
Noun
He has reached the limit of his endurance.
In training, she pushed her body to its physical limits.
He tries to be creative within the limits of conventional journalism.
There are limits to what I can put up with from him!
Verb
We need to find ways to limit expenses.
He tried to limit the damage to his reputation by blaming other people.
A factor limiting our country's economic performance is its lack of resources.
Our lack of money limits our options.
Because of our lack of money, we have to limit ourselves to fewer options.
Recent Examples on the WebLinda Robertson, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2024
San Joaquin Valley farmers are already fighting stricter irrigation limits as the state looks to ensure healthy water flows for wildlife and curb groundwater pumping that is causing portions of the valley to sink.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024
The woman was arrested for driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.17% — more than twice the legal limit — according to authorities.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024
Direct File, unlike the IRS’ Free File, isn’t subject to income limits.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 26 Apr. 2024
According to the news outlet, Curran's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit at the time of being pulled over.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 25 Apr. 2024
The group also argued that sodium from cheese should not be counted against overall sodium limits.
—Julie Creswell Audra Melton, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2024
Among the drawbacks of incorporating would be Colerain's responsibility to maintain more roads within municipality limits, not just township roads.
—Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 24 Apr. 2024
Analysts also caution that there are historical limits to how large a social movement can grow when the matter at hand is not taking place in the United States or directly involves American troops.
—Tim Craig, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2024
Treating Myopia Fortunately, just a few minutes a day with glasses or contact lenses that correct for blur stops the progression of myopia, which is why early vision testing and vision correction are important to limit the development of myopia.
—Andrew Herbert, Discover Magazine, 27 Apr. 2024
He’s been limited during the draft process as a result of the injury.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Apr. 2024
Texas has a long in-person early-voting period but strictly limits mail-in voting.
—Olivia Rinaldi, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
The company doesn’t limit its use, even though it was designed to operate on limited access freeways.
—Tom Krisher, Quartz, 26 Apr. 2024
That week, the Greek government had limited the number of visitors at the Acropolis in Athens to 20,000 per day.
—Rachel Howard, Travel + Leisure, 26 Apr. 2024
However expansive or limited your perspective, and however expansive or limited O’Brien’s perspective, Conan O’Brien Must Go is a very silly and occasionally illuminating series that’s still finding its rhythms and its comic voice as the fourth episode concludes.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
Customers will be limited to five items or less at Dollar General locations with self-checkout kiosks.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024
Noun
Margulies reduced his plan to three 18-story buildings with a limit of 575 units.
—Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2024
San Joaquin Valley farmers are already fighting stricter irrigation limits as the state looks to ensure healthy water flows for wildlife and curb groundwater pumping that is causing portions of the valley to sink.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024
The woman was arrested for driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.17% — more than twice the legal limit — according to authorities.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024
Direct File, unlike the IRS’ Free File, isn’t subject to income limits.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 26 Apr. 2024
According to the news outlet, Curran's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit at the time of being pulled over.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 25 Apr. 2024
The group also argued that sodium from cheese should not be counted against overall sodium limits.
—Julie Creswell Audra Melton, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2024
Among the drawbacks of incorporating would be Colerain's responsibility to maintain more roads within municipality limits, not just township roads.
—Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 24 Apr. 2024
Analysts also caution that there are historical limits to how large a social movement can grow when the matter at hand is not taking place in the United States or directly involves American troops.
—Tim Craig, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
Verb
And since then, the state has passed propositions that give consumers the right to correct inaccurate personal information a business has about them as well as the right to limit the use and disclosure of that data.
—Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2024
Treating Myopia Fortunately, just a few minutes a day with glasses or contact lenses that correct for blur stops the progression of myopia, which is why early vision testing and vision correction are important to limit the development of myopia.
—Andrew Herbert, Discover Magazine, 27 Apr. 2024
He’s been limited during the draft process as a result of the injury.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Apr. 2024
Texas has a long in-person early-voting period but strictly limits mail-in voting.
—Olivia Rinaldi, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
The company doesn’t limit its use, even though it was designed to operate on limited access freeways.
—Tom Krisher, Quartz, 26 Apr. 2024
That week, the Greek government had limited the number of visitors at the Acropolis in Athens to 20,000 per day.
—Rachel Howard, Travel + Leisure, 26 Apr. 2024
However expansive or limited your perspective, and however expansive or limited O’Brien’s perspective, Conan O’Brien Must Go is a very silly and occasionally illuminating series that’s still finding its rhythms and its comic voice as the fourth episode concludes.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
Customers will be limited to five items or less at Dollar General locations with self-checkout kiosks.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'limit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near limit
Cite this Entry
“Limit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/limit. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
limit
2 of 2 verb
: to set limits to : keep within limits
limit expenses
management reserves the right to limit quantities
an adjective limits the meaning of a noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share