# lame

> English word · Adjective · IPA /leɪm/ · frequency rank #7,707

## Definitions
1. Unable to walk properly because of a problem with one's feet or legs.
2. Unable to walk properly because of a problem with one's feet or legs.
3. Unable to walk properly because of a problem with one's feet or legs.
4. Hobbling; limping; inefficient; imperfect.
5. Unconvincing or unbelievable.
6. Uncool, uninteresting, or unfunny.

## Etymology
From Middle English lame, from Old English lama (“lame”), from Proto-West Germanic *lam, from Proto-Germanic *lamaz (“lame”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃lemH- (“to tire; to break”).

## Easily confused with
- **le** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-le)
- **LM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lm)
- **law** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-law)
- **lie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lie)
- **lee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lee)
- **lay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lay)
- **las** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-las)
- **lap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lap)
- **LAN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lan)
- **lax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lax)
- **lim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lim)
- **Lao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lao)
- **Lau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lau)
- **LAT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lat)
- **LEM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lem)
- **lar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lar)
- **lye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lye)
- **lum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lum)
- **lav** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-lav)
- **like** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lame-vs-like)

## Common misspellings (5)
`alme`, `laem`, `lamme`, `llame`, `lmae`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/lame