handicapped

UK: /ˈhændikæpt/ US: /ˈhændiˌkæpt/ ,(han′dē kapt′)

From the verb handicap: (⇒ conjugate)

handicapped is: ⓘ

v past

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

hand•i•capped /ˈhændiˌkæpt/   adj. 

1. Physiology, Psychiatry physically or mentally disabled, as by accident, birth defect, etc.:
   a handicapped person.

n. 

2. the handicapped, [plural* used with a plural verb] handicapped persons thought of as a group.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

hand•i•capped  (han′dē kapt′), adj. 

1. Physiology, Psychiatry physically or mentally disabled.
2. (of a contestant) marked by, being under, or having a handicap:
   a handicapped player.

n. 

3. (used with a pl. v.) handicapped persons collectively (usually prec. by the):
   increased job opportunities for the handicapped.

• handicap + -ed³ 1910–15

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

handicapped / ˈhændɪˌkæpt/ adjective

1. physically or intellectually disabled
2. (of a competitor) assigned a handicap

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

hand•i•cap /ˈhændiˌkæp/   n., v., -capped, -cap•ping. 
n. [countable]

1. Sport a contest in which a disadvantage or advantage, as of weight, is given to competitors to equalize their chances of winning.
2. Sport the disadvantage or advantage itself.
3. any disadvantage that makes success more difficult.
4. Psychiatry a physical or mental disability, esp. one that makes ordinary activities of daily living difficult:
   The accident left him with a handicap.

v. [ ~ + obj]

5. to place at a disadvantage;
   burden:
   The search was handicapped by the darkness.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

hand•i•cap  (han′dē kap′), n., v., -capped, -cap•ping. 
n. 

1. Sport a race or other contest in which certain disadvantages or advantages of weight, distance, time, etc., are placed upon competitors to equalize their chances of winning.
2. Sport the disadvantage or advantage itself.
3. any disadvantage that makes success more difficult:
   The main handicap of our business is lack of capital.
4. a physical or mental disability making participation in certain of the usual activities of daily living more difficult.

v.t. 

5. to place at a disadvantage;
   disable or burden:
   He was handicapped by his injured ankle.
6. to subject to a disadvantageous handicap, as a competitor of recognized superiority.
7. to assign handicaps to (competitors).
8. Sport
   • to attempt to predict the winner of (a contest, esp. a horse race), as by comparing past performances of the contestants.
   • to assign odds for or against (any particular contestant) to win a contest or series of contests:
     He handicapped the Yankees at 2-to-1 to take the series from the Cardinals.

• 1640–50; 1870–75 for def. 8; origin, originally hand i' cap hand in cap, referring to a drawing before a horse race

Synonyms

• 5. hinder, impede, cripple, incapacitate.

Antonyms

• 5. aid, assist, help.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

handicap / ˈhændɪˌkæp/ noun

1. something that hampers or hinders
2. a contest, esp a race, in which competitors are given advantages or disadvantages of weight, distance, time, etc, in an attempt to equalize their chances of winning
3. the advantage or disadvantage prescribed
4. the number of strokes by which a player's averaged score exceeds the standard scratch score for the particular course: used as the basis for handicapping in competitive play
5. any physical or mental disability

verb ( -caps, -capping, -capped)(transitive)

1. to be a hindrance or disadvantage to
2. to assign a handicap or handicaps to
3. to organize (a contest) by handicapping

Etymology: 17th Century: probably from hand in cap, a lottery game in which players drew forfeits from a cap or deposited money in it