limp

UK: /ˈlɪmp/ US: /lɪmp/ ,(limp)

Inflections of 'limp' (adj):

limper

adj comparative

limpest

adj superlative

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

limp¹ /lɪmp/   v. [no object]

1. Pathology to walk with difficult movement, with one leg or foot dragging behind:
   The injured player limped off the field.
2. to progress with great difficulty, hesitation, or slowness:
   The economy limps along.

n. [countable]

3. a lame movement or way of walking.

limp² /lɪmp/   adj., -er, -est. 

1. lacking stiffness, as of substance or structure;
   too soft:
   a limp rag.
2. tired;
   fatigued:
   I was limp with exhaustion.
3. without firmness, force, energy, etc.:
   limp writing.

limp•ly, adv. 
limp•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

limp¹  (limp), v.i. 

1. Pathology 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.

n. 

4. a lame movement or gait:
   The accident left him with a slight limp.

• 1560–70; back formation from obsolete limphault lame; Old English lemphealt limping (see halt²); akin to Middle High German limpfen to limp

limp′er, n. 
limp′ing•ly, adv. 

limp²  (limp), adj., -er, -est. 

1. lacking stiffness or firmness, as of substance, fiber, structure, or bodily frame:
   a limp body.
2. lacking vitality;
   weary;
   tired;
   fatigued:
   Limp with exhaustion, she dropped into the nearest chair.
3. without firmness, force, energy, etc., as of character:
   limp, spiritless prose.
4. flexible;
   not stiff or rigid:
   a Bible in a limp leather binding.

• Scandinavian; compare Icelandic limpa slackness, limpilegur soft, flabby
• perh. 1700–10

limp′ly, adv. 
limp′ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. flabby, flaccid, soft.
• 2, 3. feeble, weak.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

limp / lɪmp/ verb (intransitive)

1. to walk with an uneven step, esp with a weak or injured leg
2. to advance in a labouring or faltering manner

noun

1. an uneven walk or progress

Etymology: 16th Century: probably a back formation from obsolete limphalt lame, from Old English lemphealt; related to Middle High German limpfen to limp

ˈlimper noun

ˈlimping adjective , noun

limp / lɪmp/ adjective

not firm or stiff

not energetic or vital

(of the binding of a book) not stiffened with boards

Etymology: 18th Century: probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Icelandic limpa looseness

ˈlimply adverb

ˈlimpness noun