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PlainSpell

limbo

lim·bo/ˈlɪmboʊ/noun, verb

limbo is spelled L-I-M-B-O: 5 letters and 2 syllables (lim·bo). It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, limbo means “A speculative place or state, thought possibly to be on the edge of the bottomless pit of Hell, where the souls of innocent deceased people might…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of limbo is limbos or limboes.

How many letters and syllables are in limbo?

Letters5: L-I-M-B-O
Syllables2: lim·bo
In writing2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is limbo?

Limbo appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce limbo?

  • UK /ˈlɪmbəʊ/
  • US /ˈlɪmboʊ/
  • /ˈlɪmboː/

Limbo has 2 syllables, split lim·bo in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-limbo.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with limbo?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as limbo from its last stressed vowel (/ɪmboʊ/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of limbo

  • limbos plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • limboes plural
  • limboing participle, present
  • limboed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does limbo mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A speculative place or state, thought possibly to be on the edge of the bottomless pit of Hell, where the souls of innocent deceased people might exist temporarily until they can enter heaven, specifically those of the saints who died before the advent of Jesus Christ (who occupy the limbo patrum or limbo of the patriarchs or fathers) and those of unbaptized infants (who occupy the limbo infantum

  2. 2

    Chiefly preceded by in: any in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect or oblivion which results in deadlock, delay, or some other unresolved status.

    My passport application has been stuck in bureaucratic limbo for two weeks.

  3. 3

    archaicslangJail, prison; (countable) a jail cell or lockup.

  4. 4

    obsoleteSynonym of Hades or Hell.

  5. 5

    obsoleteSynonym of pawn (“the state of something being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge”).

  6. 6

    A type of antisubmarine mortar installed on naval vessels.

  7. 7

    A competitive dance originating from Trinidad and Tobago in which dancers take turns to cross under a horizontal bar while bending backwards. The bar is lowered with each round, and the competition is won by the dancer who passes under the bar in the lowest position without dislodging it or falling down.

verb

  1. 1

    To dance the limbo (etymology 2, noun etymology 2, noun sense 1).

  2. 2

    Often followed by under: to pass under something, especially while bending backwards.

  3. 3

    rareTo place (someone or something) in an in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect or oblivion which results in deadlock, delay, or some other unresolved status.

noun

as Limbo
  1. 1

    Alternative letter-case form of limbo (“a type of antisubmarine mortar installed on naval vessels”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Limbo in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchlimbes (place where the souls of innocent deceased…), limbo (competitive dance in which dancers take turns…)
GermanLimbus, Vorhölle (place where the souls of innocent deceased…), Schwebezustand (in-between place, or condition or state, of…), in der Luft hängen lassen (to place (someone or something) in an…)
Portugueselimbo (place where the souls of innocent deceased…)
Spanishlimbo (place where the souls of innocent deceased…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does limbo come from?

The noun is derived from Middle English limbo, lymbo (“place where innocent souls exist temporarily until they can enter heaven”), from Latin limbō, the ablative singular of limbus (“border, edge; hem; fringe, tassel”) (notably in expressions like in limbō (“in limbo”) and e limbō (“out of limbo”)); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *lemb- (“to hang limply or loosely”), from Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang down loosely (?)”). Doublet of limp. The verb is derived from the noun.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after limbo