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\ ˈlimp 
\
\limped; limping; limps
Definition of limp
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a : to walk lamely especially : to walk favoring one leg The injured player limped off the field.
b : to go unsteadily : falter the conversation limped for some time— Henry Green
2 : to proceed slowly or with difficulty
the ship limped back to port
limp
nounDefinition of limp (Entry 2 of 3)
: a limping movement or gait
limp
adjectiveDefinition of limp (Entry 3 of 3)
1a : lacking firm texture, substance, or structure
limp curtains her hair hung limp about her shoulders
b : not stiff or rigid
a book in a limp binding
b : lacking in strength, vigor, or firmness : spiritless
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Synonyms & Antonyms for limp
Synonyms: Verb
Synonyms: Adjective
Antonyms: Verb
Antonyms: Adjective
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Examples of limp in a Sentence
Verb
The injured player limped off the court.
The dog was limping slightly.
The damaged ship limped back to port.
The company has somehow managed to limp along despite the bad economy. Noun
We noticed that the dog was walking with a slight limp. Adjective
He gave me a very limp handshake.
This plant isn't doing well—look how limp the leaves are.
Her hair hung limp around her shoulders.
I suddenly went limp and collapsed on the floor.
He was limp with fatigue.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Instead of limping back to the literary world full-time after the snack thing, Wiener returned as an author and a West Coast contributing writer for The New Yorker, cartoon headshot sketch and all.
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Malcolm Harris, The New Republic, "The Uneasy Promise of Life in Silicon Valley," 3 Feb. 2020 And on Saturday, the Blazers watched yet another player depart with a concerning injury as center Skal Labissiere limped off the court after hurting his left knee injury three minutes into a game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Jamie Goldberg, oregonlive, "Portland Trail Blazers center Skal Labissiere undergoes MRI after suffering knee injury," 29 Dec. 2019 The Hurricanes limp in after a stunning overtime loss to Georgia Tech last week, falling as 18-point favorites.
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Joe Williams, USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire, "Miami at Pittsburgh odds, picks and best bets," 24 Oct. 2019 Sewell limped off the field, placing weight on both legs, and is pictured after the game with no brace or ice on his knee (above).
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oregonlive, "Polynesian Bowl: Kris Hutson shines, Noah Sewell leaves game with knee injury," 19 Jan. 2020 The 26-year-old remained on the ground and was surrounded by teammates and limped off the court with help.
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Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAY, "Lakers forward Anthony Davis exits after injuring lower back on hard fall," 8 Jan. 2020 Karras was injured during the third quarter and limped off the field with assistance.
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BostonGlobe.com, "HOUSTON — Patriots center Ted Karras was ruled out of Sunday night’s game against the Texans because of a knee injury.," 2 Dec. 2019 Michigan could have come into this game limping on failure, after a blowout to Wisconsin and a heartbreaker to Penn State left them out of the running for any titles.
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Detroit Free Press, "Mitch Albom: Michigan football's sickening reality: Ohio State is just better," 1 Dec. 2019 Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, a key for the Raiders’ defense against the run this season, limped off the field early in the fourth quarter.
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Matt Kawahara, SFChronicle.com, "Raiders’ jets cooled in 34-3 loss to New York," 24 Nov. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Despite a childhood bout of polio that left him with a permanent limp, Glassman was always a natural athlete.
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Tessa Love, Outside Online, "Greg Glassman’s Easy Health Care Fix: More CrossFit," 16 Jan. 2020 Authorities scoured the North Side neighborhood of Lincoln Park for a particular coyote with a limp seen multiple times over the past week and warned residents to watch their small animals amid reported attacks on dogs.
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Hannah Knowles, Anchorage Daily News, "Coyotes may have attacked Chicagoans twice this week after years of leaving people alone," 10 Jan. 2020 Kirkpatrick walked off the field with no noticeable limp and told The Enquirer that his knee is feeling better.
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Tyler Dragon, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati Bengals 'frustrated' over inability to run the football," 4 Nov. 2019 Simmons, out since severely spraining his left ankle on May 20, played in two rehab games last week but moved around with a noticeable limp.
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Maria Torres, latimes.com, "Shohei Ohtani says he’d be honored to compete in home run derby," 23 June 2019 Patterson, who was 60 years old and carried a distinct limp from a World War I injury, ran for attorney general on a platform of cleaning up the graft.
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Mike Cason | Mcason@al.com, al, "Alabama Bicentennial: 200 years of political scandals and scrapes," 4 Dec. 2019 Peter Fonda plays a lonely beekeeper with a persistent limp, a gruff demeanor and a lifetime’s worth of regrets.
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Los Angeles Times, "Appreciation: ‘Easy Rider’ made Peter Fonda an icon. ‘Ulee’s Gold’ made him an actor to remember," 17 Aug. 2019 He’s now without a limp and able to blow kisses at his mother before heading off to school each day.
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Lateshia Beachum, Washington Post, "Boy thrown from third-floor of Mall of America returns to school, says he was caught by angels," 23 Nov. 2019 Police later released surveillance video of Kamille playing with a friend before being approached by an adult with a limp.
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Time, "Alabama Police: Body of Missing 3-Year-Old Kamille 'Cupcake' McKinney Found in Landfill," 23 Oct. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective In the 77th minute, Ruan took a hit to the head that knocked him limp for several seconds.
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Julia Poe, Pro Soccer USA, "Orlando City closes season with 5-2 home loss to Chicago Fire," 8 Oct. 2019 Instead, after years of heat damage (including the torture tests of my pageant competition days), my hair was a strange mix of waves, limp curls, and random straight pieces.
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Thatiana Diaz, refinery29.com, "I Went Heat-Free For 365 Days — & This Is What My Hair Looks Like Now," 21 Jan. 2020 Sauté onion, celery and carrot over medium heat until onion is limp, about 5 minutes.
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Nancy Stohs, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Testing recipes brought a steady stream of new dishes to my table. A few became favorites.," 7 Jan. 2020 The evidence includes bodycam footage in which Gallagher is seen over the limp ISIS fighter's body before the camera is switched off.
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CBS News, "Fellow Navy SEALs call Edward Gallagher "toxic" and "evil" in never-before-seen interviews," 27 Dec. 2019 The escargot were lukewarm and limp despite the promise that the snails were roasted in a bath of walnut-garlic butter.
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Lindsey Mcclave, The Courier-Journal, "Lackluster food falls short at this established French restaurant on Louisville's East End," 27 Nov. 2019 Bobo, 2-13 lifetime with the Rams vs. CU, Air Force and Wyoming, quacks with a limp these days.
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Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, "Keeler: Mike Bobo just became the Clay Helton of the Mountain West Conference," 23 Nov. 2019 Rodgers returned for the second half — limp and all — and Chicago carried a 20-3 lead into the fourth quarter.
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Christopher Bumbaca, USA TODAY, "Aaron Rodgers, Packers have dealt Bears some devastating losses. Here are QB's five biggest moments," 5 Sep. 2019 Bayern supporters have been pretty underwhelmed by Kovac's time as manager of their club, and his reign may well be over after this limp and embarrassing display.
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SI.com, "Twitter Reacts as Bayern Munich are Shockingly Thrashed 5-1 By Eintracht Frankfurt," 2 Nov. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'limp.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for limp
limp
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of limp
(Entry 1 of 3)
: to walk in a slow and awkward way because of an injury to a leg or foot
: to go or continue slowly or with difficulty
limp
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of limp (Entry 2 of 3)
: a slow and awkward way of walking caused by an injury to a leg or foot
limp
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of limp (Entry 3 of 3)
: having an unpleasantly soft or weak quality : not firm or stiff
: feeling very tired
See the full definition for limp in the English Language Learners Dictionary
limp
verb\ ˈlimp \
\limped; limping
Kids Definition of limp
(Entry 1 of 3)
: to walk in a slow or uneven way because of an injury to a foot or leg
… Shiloh's up limping around on his bad leg.— Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Shiloh
limp
nounKids Definition of limp (Entry 2 of 3)
: a slow or uneven way of walking caused by an injury to a leg or foot
limp
adjectiveKids Definition of limp (Entry 3 of 3)
: not firm or stiff
The limp plants needed water.
limp
intransitive verb\ ˈlimp \
\Medical Definition of limp
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to walk lamely especially : to walk favoring one leg
2 : to go unsteadily
limp
nounMedical Definition of limp (Entry 2 of 2)
: a limping movement or gait
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Comments on limp
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Time Traveler for limp
The first known use of limp was circa 1570
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